Siren's Song
by AspiringAuthor13
Summary: When a 28 year old woman with unique powers is asked by S.H.I.E.L.D to join the Avengers, she is sure that nothing good can come of it. However, as time goes on, Alexia Brookes begins to unravel the mysteries of her teammates and her own past, as well as hitting it off with a certain iron-clad superhero. (OC x Iron Man) Rated T just to be safe. Set before Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first fanfiction ever so please don't judge it too harshly. However feel free to leave constructive criticism in a review. This chapter is more to introduce the character than anything and I will upload another chapter within a week, possibly even today. I'm from England so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes in my grammar (i.e grey = gray) or my descriptions of New York. Also, the length of the stories will range averagely from 1,000 to 2,000. If you'd like longer or shorter chapters, please leave a review.**

 **Chapter 1 - Alexia Brookes**

In the middle of the afternoon, in a random swimming pool in the middle of Manhattan, New York, a girl with soft brown hair and bright green eyes submerged from the depths of the temperate water to a completely empty room. Alexia was expecting this, of course, seeing as she wasn't _technically_ supposed to be in the building at all. It wasn't illegal, per se, but the owner had closed early and the employees were having lunch on the floor above her, so she thought a little bit of extra exercise in a peaceful environment would be good for the soul. Ok, maybe a little illegal.

"Hey! You there, get outta the pool," a man shouted from across the room.

Well, all good things must come to an end. Alexia scrambled to her feet and snatched her cream towel off of a nearby bench. Beneath it, she was wearing a simple white and red polka dot bikini. The young woman considered running, but seeing as the man was already half way across the length of the pool, she doubted there would be time.

"Hi there! Sorry about that, I promise it won't happen again. Plus, if you let me go, I swear you won't ever see my face after this," she promised earnestly.

"Nice try," the man leered as he approached.

He made a swipe for her wrist but, more out of instinct than anything else, Alexia raised her hands so that the palms faced upwards. Behind the two, a small wave of chlorinated water rose before crashing on top of the man. She felt kind of sorry for him, as she knew he was just trying to do his job, but it was also funny to see an obnoxious man soaked with an utterly bewildered look on his round face.

"Sorry about that... Bye!" Alexia apologized before scampering away, her athletic body already dry.

The employee made an attempt to follow but accidentally fell into the pool. _Talk about adding insult to injury_ , Alexia thought as she skidded past an even more confused group of employees with nothing but a towel and a swimming costume protecting her. They stood up but she was gone before they even saw which direction she was heading in.

Eventually, Alexia was able to locate her clothing and was soon dressed in a pair of denim jeans, comfortable yet fashionable ankle boots, a grey tank top and a brown leather jacket.

After sneaking out of the sports centre and running around countless corners before being sure that she was not followed, the brunette decided that her next stop was Central Park. She quickly navigated her way around the busy streets of Manhattan and was able to find a comfortable spot on a wooden bench next to a relatively small pond.

Despite its size, Lexy could tell that it was buzzing with life. She caught every flick of a fish tail, every whir of an insect, every leap of a frog. It made the woman smile to think that so much life could be found in such a miniscule and unlikely place. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a surprisingly attractive man. He had blonde hair and a muscular build as well as a kind smile.

"Mind if I sit, ma'am?" He asked politely, motioning to the seat.

Alexia smiled at him and shuffled slightly to make room. He sat down and breathed in the fresh air.

"It's relaxing here, isn't it?" she remarked as she continued to study the insects that hovered above the pond.

"I believe so, ma'am. I've... Been away for a while and although it's been about a year or two since my return, I still find myself amazed by some of New York's greatest sights," he spoke quietly but passionately.

The man's face seemed rather familiar but, unable to place the handsome stranger, Lexy turned back to her own thoughts. She wasn't particularly attracted to him, despite his obvious appeal, but he did seem like a good friend from the two minutes since he had sat down. After a while, Alexia got bored of the quiet of the park. Having to do work elsewhere anyway, she nodded at the stranger and walked away. After wandering around for a while, Lexy decided to buy some food for her pets, who waited patiently at her apartment for her return. On the way to the store, she accidentally bumped into a man with long, light blonde hair. He, too, had a muscular build and sported a small bit of blonde stubble.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Lexy apologized immediately. The man only smiled.

"Nonsense, I should be the one to apologize for distressing such a fair lady," he replied.

"Well thanks but I'm pretty sure it was me who bumped into you," Alexia assured.

"I still insist on being the one to apologize," he continued.

"Ok then, I forgive you, now if you'll excuse me..." Alexia said, slipping past him before he could say another word.

So one handsome stranger and one handsome weirdo. What more could happen today? Alexia continued to the pet store, where she bought an eye catching amount of fish food, among other things, before returning home to her spacious apartment. The apartment was clean and large, but there was a distinct lack of furniture. In the middle of the lounge, there were two sofas, a small TV and a coffee table. The lounge led into the kitchen at one end and there was a door to her bedroom on the other, next to a door to the bathroom. Along the back wall of the room was an enormous glass aquarium. Inside were all different Alexia loved everything to do with water: fish, swimming, bathing, everything. This wasn't entirely strange due to her abilities, but one might still call it an obsession. She worked as a marine biologist at a nearby university and thoroughly enjoyed spending her time learning about the different types of fish and discovering new ones.

After pouring fish food into the tank and watching them crowd around it, gobbling down the flakes, Lexy straightened herself and looked at the clock. The time was now 5pm and the woman decided that that was about the right time to have dinner. She strolled to the kitchen, where she prepared her own meal: microwavable steamed vegetables. They didn't take long and she was soon happily munching away on the boiling dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, me again. I'm glad I am able to upload this the same day as the first one. Sorry if any of the Avengers or anyone are OOC at any point in this story and don't be afraid to review or message me about it.**

 **Chapter 2 - Proving Herself**

"Alexia Brookes, nickname Lexy, codename Siren. We've been watching her for a while, now," Nick Fury explained as a photo of a stunning brunette appeared behind him.

Tony Stark whistled appreciatively, while Steve and Thor gasped. Natasha observed her every detail before turning her attention back to Fury. Clint barely even glanced at her, too interested in leaning back in one of the black leather chairs surrounding the rectangular table in the brief room. Dr Banner didn't even look up from his laptop and continued to furiously type away.

"She's a marine biologist here in New York who's had a... _Troubled_ past," the director continued.

"I met her yesterday! She was in the park," Steve blurted.

"So did I," Thor announced.

"Right. Why's she on your radar?" Tony asked, intrigued.

"She has certain abilities that we found could be useful in the future. That future is now. We want you to recruit her," Fury instructed.

A silence broke out as everyone turned to the man, who smirked at their sudden attention.

"Who says we need a new member?" Natasha questioned.

"Maybe it's the fact that you guys barely speak when you're not fighting despite living in the same tower as each other, perhaps it's the idea that, as you face new dangers you'll have to become stronger and a lot of people around here including me don't think you're up to it, possibly I just think that she would make a nice addition to the team," Fury stated evenly.

A few of the team members looked at each other, considering each reason and the proposal overall. Cap seemed completely fine with the idea. Thor still seemed unsure, along with Dr Banner and Clint. Tony and Natasha simply looked unimpressed.

"You're saying that an international super spy, billionaire genius in a metal suit, supersoldier, master archer, radioactive scientist and Viking _god_ aren't enough to keep the world safe?" Natasha raised her eyebrow.

"And you want to solve that problem by recruiting a marine biologist?" Tony just looked like the world had gone mad.

"She's a lot more than that," Nick chuckled.

"What if we refuse?" Natasha pushed.

"You can't. Anyway, I think that most of the team are ok with it," Fury pointed out.

Natasha stared dumbfounded at her teammates, who all shrugged uncomfortably. She rolled her eyes and marched out. Tony stayed silent but didn't seem particularly happy with the decision.

"She seemed nice, I don't see why this is so bad," Steve spoke up.

"The whole reason we are here is because we try to keep people safe. Hiring a complete newbie is probably going to get her killed and if we have to waste time training her, we won't be much better off," Tony snapped.

"What if we show you what she is capable of?" Nick offered.

"How?" Stark replied suspiciously.

"Just come back tomorrow around lunch time. It will be worth it," Fury promised.  
Still uncertain, the team left the room and eventually the helicarrier.

The morning after her strange encounters with the familiar and handsome men, Alexia got up and changed into a simple, slimming grey dress with a black belt and a red cardigan. She also slipped on a pair of tights and simple black heels before heading out to work. On the journey there by means of subway, she had the distinct feeling of being watched.

She shook it off as paranoia and continued to weave her way in and out of people, buildings and anything else in her way, eventually finding herself in a deserted alley. Now the fear of what she felt truly sunk in. She began to run but was caught by the wrist by someone. Before she could react in any way, or even turn around, a cloth was over her mouth. That was the last thing she remembered before completely blacking out.

When Lexy woke up, probably hours later, she was in a monochrome grey room. The only sign that colour even existed was her own clothes and the four pools of clean water in each corner of the spacious hall, which had underwater lights emitting a soft blue aura. Before she could even gather her thoughts, two giant doors on either side of the rectangular slid open, revealing two identical enormous machines. They were humanoid in shape but had no facial features. They stayed immobile for only a second before one jerked awake.

Despite the fact that it had no eyes, Alexia got the sickening feeling that it had seen her. She quickly stood up and kicked off her heels, readying herself for the fight that was about to begin. At that moment, a voice echoed through the room, shaking her from her focus.

"Miss Brookes, good afternoon. We are sorry for-" the deep voice began before another voice cut in.

"Yeah yeah, can you just fight the giant robot please?" It commanded impatiently.

Lexy narrowed her eyes and huffed, but turned to the hunk of metal anyway. It raised a large, heavy arm at a surprisingly quick pace and aimed at her before firing a round of speeding bullets. Alexia quickly dodged them, her expert instincts sliding her out of the way just before the shrapnel was able to rip through her body.

Swiftly scampering over to one of the pools of water, Alexia raised her palm. The water imitated her every movement, becoming a perfect replica of her small, dainty hand. She tightened it into a fist and swung around with her arm out. The water followed and smashed into the robot, which stumbled back due to the force.

Still standing, the robot shot a rocket-launcher-style missile towards her. Before it met its target, a wave thrust itself in front of the young woman. The water, which was moving faster and more forcefully than the rocket, pushed it back, deflecting it from Lexy and sending it into one of the walls. The water quickly covered Alexia in a hollow dome to shield her from any force or shrapnel that may have hit her.

The robot changed tactics, simply running at her instead of trying anymore ranged attacks. It swung one of its arms at her and she was barely able to move out of the way before it made impact. She swivelled around to see it halt in its charge and turn around. Once she was in its sights again, it began running again. The robot seemed more intelligent than Lexy gave it credit for so she doubted it would fall for the same trick twice. Instead, she gathered liquid from all of the shallow pools and created a massive sphere of H2O. Using both arms, Alexia turned 90 degrees away from the machine. She slashed her arms from left to right, sending the sphere flying at it at whirlwind speed. The robot had no time to stop, turn or dodge as the ball hit it right in the chest. It was knocked backwards off its feet and the water that had slammed into it now had time to find chinks in the armour. It wasn't long before multiple sparks could be seen from all over its body as the water seeped into its wires, ending its artificial life. Lexy keeled over, exhausted from the amount of energy it had used to form the sphere.

"That was magnificent!" Steve marvelled appreciatively, watching the battle from a security camera.

"Yeah but look how much it took out of her," Natasha argued, glaring at the brunette with obvious disdain.

"Where'd she get those powers from, anyway?" Bruce asked Fury, who sat in the corner.

"That doesn't matter right now," Tony said quickly, "Natasha's right. She's exhausted, has no water left and still has a robot to fight."

The Avengers heads all turned back to the screen as they saw the woman stand up slowly. The second machine had already taken its clone's place, moving towards Alexia slowly.

She was exhausted and irritated but she wasn't going to give up. Lexy stood completely still, ignoring the robot entirely. She focused all of her remaining energy on finding the nearest water source. There was still plenty of water around and the amount of water vapour was countless as it hung in the air, but Lexy knew that bringing them all together would take too much time and energy. Instead, she centred all of her energy on the ocean she could feel below her. It was a long way down and numerous walls of metal stood in between it and her, but she still summoned it.

Unbeknownst to everyone watching, a spire of water formed in the Hudson River. It began rising, pushing upwards as fast as lightning to find the woman who summoned it. The Avengers watches with shock as the woman merely stood there. Even the robot looked confused as Alexia slowly opened her eyes and grinned at the beast of technology. Suddenly, her hands, which had been at her sides, shot upwards until they were in front of her face. Simultaneously, a spire of water smashed through the ground, shooting straight through the robot and spurting out of its head.

With its circuits fried, the machine toppled over. The water slowly began to descend again, leaving Alexia alone. She watched it fall peacefully back to where it belonged through the hole it had left in the floor before closing her eyes, falling unconscious for the second time that day. She hadn't used her powers to that extent for a long time, nor was she ever planning to again. Of course, plans can change, as Alexia was about to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi again! Oh my god, thank you so much to everyone that followed/favorited this story. 11 followers may not seem like much but seeing as I didn't think _anyone_ would like this story, it made my day to get such a surge of response. Sorry this chapter is a little short, I promise the next one will be longer!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the Avengers or the Marvel Universe, I only own my OCs.**

 **Chapter 3 - Meeting the Avengers**

"Tell me that wasn't the most brilliant thing you've ever seen, Tony!" a muffled voice insisted excitedly.  
"It's definitely intriguing," another voice muttered.  
"Bruce, the question was for _Ton_ y," the first voice reiterated.  
"Yes but _he_ hasn't said anything for the past 20 minutes," a third voice grumbled. This one sounded female.  
Alexia slowly opened her eyes, utterly unprepared for the bright light and white furniture the room contained. The group around her grew silent when they noticed she was stirring. When she could finally open her eyes long enough to gather her bearings, she saw six figures lounging around her bed, which was clean but slightly uncomfortable. They were all staring at her intensely, something which she hated.  
Lexy was thinking of something witty to say when a flash of pain erupted in her brain. She groaned and went to grab at her hair before realizing that there were tubes attached to her forearms. She went to take them out when a hand stopped her. She looked up and saw a familiar face looking at her with a friendly but worried expression.  
"Uh, hi! I'm Steve Rogers, we met in the park," he introduced gingerly.  
"Ok," she replied evenly.  
He was slightly taken aback by this answer and removed his hand from her wrist. She was about to speak when she noticed a glass of water sitting in the table next to her. Alexia grabbed it and drunk it all in one. That was when she remembered what had happened. She winced when she was reminded of the depletion of energy she had felt but then she glared at the group. All Lexy knew was that she had been kidnapped and forced to fight some kind of robots before waking up in what seemed to be a hospital surrounded by strangers.  
"Where am I and who are you people?" Alexia snarled uncharacteristically.  
"You're on the Helicarrier, ok? You're safe here. We're the Avengers," a man with tan skin and dark hair announced.  
Alexia closed her eyes as she remembered who they were: a group of heroes that had saved the city about a year before. At the time, Alexia had been in Scotland on vacation, but it had made international news and everyone was raving about it when she got back. Plus, the damage was clearly visible to anyone in New York around the time.  
"Oh, so he does talk," one of the others mumbled before speaking up to introduce himself, "Clint Barton."  
"Yeah I know who you all are, now," Lexy muttered, "Why exactly am I here, why was I forced to destroy robots and... What is a helicarrier?"  
" _The_ Helicarrier is HQ of S.H.I.E.L.D," came a voice from behind the group.  
They turned to see Nick Fury. Alexia sighed.  
"About time I saw someone I actually recognized," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.  
"Sorry about that, Miss Brookes, but you needed to be serious about escaping to show them your full potential," he apologized.  
"Did I miss something?" Clint queried.  
"Miss Brookes caught on that we were following her a while back, so she just told us basically everything we wanted to know and said that if we needed any help, we would know where to find her," Fury explained.  
"Actually I didn't notice, my fish did," Lexy blurted out, "... Which sounds crazy upon reflection."  
"Care to explain, sir?" Steve asked, turning back to Fury.  
"Well maybe if you had all listened in the meeting we wouldn't be in this situation. You never let me explain what her abilities were," he responded gruffly.  
"I can control water, bend it to my will yadda yadda. I can communicate with aquatic animals, I can breathe underwater indefinitely and I am a pro at swimming and diving," Lexy recalled proudly, "I have some fish at home who told me when someone trespassed."  
"... Those truly are unearthly powers, Lady Brookes. Are you sure you are from Midgard?" Thor questioned.  
Before Alexia could answer, Fury got a call from someone and excused himself. Lexy smirked when realization hit her.  
"What are you smiling about?" Natasha snapped.  
"There's a goldfish out there," she grinned.  
It took a moment for the others to comprehend what she meant. Bruce was the first to understand.  
"Who's he talking to?"  
"Coulson? That's all the fish heard. Something about someone called Coulson, you guys and... Something about a siren," Lexy repeated, bewildered by the random string of words.  
The Avengers immediately dampened at the thought of the lost agent.  
"Man, this fish needs to calm down. Oh great, and now he's forgotten what he was doing. They are probably the most unreliable... You guys alright?" Alexia frowned as she turned to see the sombre expressions on their faces.  
"Coulson was an old friend of ours. He isn't here anymore," Steve explained hesitantly.  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Lexy murmured.  
It was strange. They seemed to be in genuine mourning but Fury had been speaking as if Coulson was still alive.

 **Again, sorry that was short. Also, Coulson doesn't have a role in this story (though I can add him in if you want me to), I just thought it would be a good way to show that the events of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD are happening about now. Anyway, please review and, if you liked it, follow and favorite! Thanks to everyone who has already done so!**

 **P.S. I have privately been writing a Spider-man fanfic. The characters' personalities are a mix of Ultimate Spiderman, Amazing Spiderman and my own take on them. I wasn't planning on publishing it until I had finished about 5 chapters but if any of you are interested, I can publish it now. It may be a little slower to upload than this one, though. It is a Peter Parker x OC and the OC has fire-based powers (kind of the opposite to this character). Review if you'd like me to publish it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, so first off I want to thank everyone who has followed and favorited this story, it really means a lot! Second, I want to especially thank those of you that reviewed. Whether it be just to voice your opinions or give constructive criticism, it really helps. Please don't leave anything mean, though. If you have any other questions, you can review or PM me about it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Marvel, only my OC's.**

 **Chapter 4 - Operation Convince Brookes**

That afternoon, Alexia was released from the hospital wing of the Helicarrier and taken to a room where she was given a glass of water and told to wait patiently. It was not long before Fury came barging in, quickly followed by the Avengers, who sat around her.

"So, Miss Brookes, you have been offered a place on the Avengers, I suggest you take it. After proving your abilities, they have agreed to the proposal," Fury announced bluntly.

Alexia blinked at him, surprised. She shouldn't have been, it was pretty obvious why she was there, but it was a shock all the same. She mulled it over in her mind. Joining the Avengers would mean a considerable pay rise; a permanent place to live that would need little maintenance and the opportunity to use her powers on a regular basis.

"Would I have to leave my fish behind?" She asked slowly.

"The Avengers tower has a personalized floor for each of us. You could bring your aquarium and add other breeds to the collection," Tony offered.

"They're not just a collection," she snapped slightly, "Would I still be working as a marine biologist or is this a permanent thing?"

"I think it would be hard to do both, but definitely not impossible. You'd have to drop your university, though, and have Stark Industries sponsor you instead," Steve answered honestly.

"Ok, no thanks," Lexy refused politely.

The whole room was in shock. They'd expected a bit of reluctance but she had refused so bluntly. Fury was not surprised but still sighed exasperatedly.

"Thank you for coming in, Miss Brookes. We'll drop you off in your neighbourhood," he said.

"There's no need. I'll just jump," Alexia replied, standing up.

"What?!" most of the Avengers exclaimed.

"If you were listening earlier, you would've heard that I have exceptional diving and swimming capabilities. Plus, the water won't hurt me," she explained vaguely.

They still looked unsure but when they saw the desperate look on her face, they backed off slightly. She smiled before navigating her way to the deck. There were a few agents running about but it was fairly empty. She saw the Avengers and Fury approaching behind her.

"Keep in touch, Nick," she smiled, waving, "Bye guys!"

They waved back weakly as she jumped off of the edge. As she fell, the brunette thought about her decision. It had been a once in a lifetime offer, but she just didn't feel that she fit the part. It's not that Lexy didn't like using her power for good, but using it to such a scale would put a strain on her life, especially without a lot of practice.

When she saw that she was rapidly growing closer to the water, she took control of it, preparing it for the impact. It still hurt a bit when she splashed into the river, but it was better than waiting for the Helicarrier to reach her street.

"Why did you just let her go after all that effort of proving us wrong?" Tony demanded irritably.

"She's still going to join. There's just no point in keeping her here when she obviously isn't going to agree based on mere persuasion," Fury explained.

"So how _are_ you going to get her to become an Avenger?" Steve queried.

"Oh, I'm not. You are," he answered.

The entire team looked bemused. How on earth were they supposed to convince her if Director Fury couldn't?

"How exactly are we supposed to do that?" Bruce questioned.

"Show her what she's missing. Fight crime in that area, invite her to the Tower, visit her apartment, get to know her, I don't care. Just get on it," he ordered before walking off of the deck.

* * *

Alexia was feeding her fish when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to see Tony, Clint and Steve standing in the hallway uncomfortably. She smiled faintly and opened the door wider to let them in.

"Hi! Um, why are you here?" She asked.

"We wanted to invite you to the Tower for dinner tonight," Tony stated.

"We're having shawarma," Clint added invitingly.

"Does that have fish in it?" Alexia questioned cautiously.

"It has meat but I don't think there's any fish," Steve answered.

"Ok! I'll come," she agreed happily.

"Great. I'll tell Jarvis," Tony said, picking up his phone and walking back into the hallway outside.

"Jarvis?"

"He's a computer that runs the Iron Man suit, Tony's house, the Tower and practically everything else to do with Stark Industries as well," Clint answered.

"J.A.R.V.I.S, it's an acronym for something; I don't know..."Steve responded, shrugging.

"Just a rather very intelligent system," Tony replied, swaggering in, phone still in hand.

"Cool! So what time should I come round?"

"How about 7?" Tony offered.

"Great, I'll be there," Lexy decided.

The three left and Tony began tapping on his phone again.

"Bruce? Be ready for company, step 1 of Operation Convince Brookes is on the go," he smirked.

* * *

That evening, after Alexia had stopped by at the Manhattan University of General Sciences to apologize for missing work, she changed into a slimming, emerald green dress and headed out to the Avengers Tower. She walked through the doors into a wide reception, where she was immediately pestered by security.

"Um, Mr Stark invited me over?" Lexy said.

The security guards looked at each other before sending her up. She entered the shiny elevator.

"Miss Brookes, I presume?" A disembodied voice greeted.

Lexy jumped at the sudden sound before smiling, realizing who it was.

"Yep. You're Jarvis, right?" She replied.

"Indeed. You are being sent to the 25th floor where the Avengers are waiting," Jarvis explained.

"Thanks, Jarvis," Lexy beamed.

"You're welcome Miss Brookes."

The voice stopped speaking as the elevator opened. Alexia saw what looked like a luxury suite, with a soft beige carpet, velvet curtains and a large mahogany table. On the table were lavishly decorated meals of meat and vegetables in a wrap. Around the table sat the Avengers, who stood up when they noticed her presence.

"Miss Brookes," Steve greeted politely.

"My name's Alexia, by the way," Lexy sighed.

"Right, Alexia," he repeated before motioning to the table, "Please, sit down."

She obeyed and sat between Thor and Bruce. The conversation seemed agreeable enough and the food was delicious, but then attention moved steadily towards her.

"So, Brookes," Tony started, "How far away do you have to be to hear an animal?"

"It's only aquatic animals and it's basically like with humans. If they're in the same room and they _want_ to talk to me, they will. The thing is that, due to the fact that no one else can hear them, they can also shout from other rooms. That's why I could hear the goldfish," she explained. The group nodded.

"What's it like being a marine biologist?" Clint asked.

"It's fun! I don't like seeing the dead bodies of sea creatures but I guess it's like being a pathologist. As long as they died naturally, I might as well use them for research. I mainly compile data; I don't actually collect the specimens. Sometimes I teach classes or present lectures in the classrooms but I'm normally in my lab."

The group continued to ask questions for a while - everyone except Natasha, anyway. Afterwards, Alexia asked them some questions.

"How often do you need to, you know, _assembl_ e?" Lexy queried.

"Well we all hang out here most of the time to practice. Most of the things we do aren't very well-known seeing as we stop the disaster before it actually happens. That happens quite a lot, like once a week maybe. Actual apocalypse-style disasters are rare, maybe once or twice a year," Tony described.

Lexy nodded and continued to ask questions while eating her shawarma. After dinner, the team plus Alexia retired to the den, where they spoke for a while longer on the cream leather couches. By the time it was 9:00, Alexia was getting slightly bored of talking and asked Bruce and Tony if she could visit their labs. As a scientist, the amount of technology and data they have at their disposal was fascinating. They obliged and the group rised to floor 29, Bruce's lab.

In a building full of expensive items, it was not surprising that the lab had the newest computers and systems, but what was surprising was how neat the room was. The floor was tiled and completely clean. The walls were white and plain, with no stains or dirt to be seen. Machines were dotted across the lab, some being smaller than a human while others were twice a person's size. A gainsboro door no doubt led to a more private space for experimenting and Alexia dared not ask to see it. She was content at ogling at the heaven in front of her.

"Woah is that the newest design from Kumatsu Computers? I thought they hadn't released it yet," she exclaimed, practically jumping up and down in excitement.

"I've got some friends at KC who owed me some favours," Tony shrugged.

"Oh. My. God. This place is amazing," Alexia whispered in awe.

"Are you thinking of joining us, then?" Thor asked hopefully.

Clint groaned at the total lack of tactic while Tony slapped his hand to his face and Steve glared at the thunder god. Bruce frowned and Natasha remained unfazed. Alexia grew silent, suddenly realizing why they had invited her round and been so polite. She stared at Steve, disappointed, and turned away. Slowly, Lexy sighed and began walking towards the elevator.

"Alexia, wait," Steve tried, grabbing her arm.

Said woman opened her mouth to say something but couldn't find the words. She merely tugged her arm out of his grip and continued to the elevator, turning to see their regretful faces before the doors shut again.

 **So I uploaded the Spider-man story (or chapter 1 anyway). If you like Spider-man you can check it out but be warned that the characters are a fuse of Spectacular, Ultimate, Amazing and my own version of Spider-man. It's a Peter Parker x OC.**

 **If you enjoyed, please follow, favorite and review. See you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, sorry I didn't upload this earlier but I have had a busy day. So Thor screwed up, eh? Anyway, this is more about Tony and Alexia than the story, though they still aren't together. That's going to take a little longer, sorry! It is going to be quite slow, as I want to establish the characters.**

 **Disclaimer: I own no one from Marvel Comics or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I only own my OC's.**

 **Chapter 5: Don't Lie To Lexy**

"Well done, O mighty thunder god," Tony mocked irritably.

"Why do you care so much, Stark? You didn't even _want_ her on the team," Steve shouted.

"Just because I didn't want her working with us doesn't mean I didn't like her!" He retorted.

"You could have made that clearer," Steve snorted.

"You-"

"Guys! Shut up!" Clint yelled.

The lab was once again silent as everyone bowed their heads. They may have been unsure when they first met, but almost everyone liked the fun, friendly 28 year-old and enjoyed having her around. Her bubbly personality was talkative at the right times and serious when the situation needed it.

"I apologize for my mistake," Thor mumbled quietly.

"It's not your fault, Thor. She probably would've found out eventually," Bruce consoled.

"We could go after her?" Steve thought aloud.

"She probably needs some space," Clint sighed.

They heard the soft whoosh of the elevator doors and swung around to see Tony in the elevator. They were about to stop him when the door clamped shut and by the time they reached them, Steve knew Stark was already on his way down.

"Jarvis? Where's the nearest body of water?" Tony asked quickly.

"The nearest natural water source is in Central Park, but if you are looking for Miss Brookes, she will not be there," Jarvis responded.

"Where will she be then?" Tony pressed.

"While in the elevator, she said that she needed to clear her head. I would take that to mean she was going to the East riverside, seeing as it is her favourite place," Jarvis explained.

"I'd ask how you know that, but sometimes I'd really rather stay ignorant," Tony muttered.

"She mentioned it over dinner," Jarvis answered.

"... Oh," Tony said, "Anyway, just take me to the ground floor."

Jarvis obliged and the doors slid open. Tony hurried out, ignoring security and storming outside. He saw an expensive black car and ran towards it, slightly unsure of who was inside. Luckily, it was as he expected and Happy Hogan was waiting patiently in the driver's seat. Stark had called him before talking to Jarvis in the elevator.

"We're going to the East River, Happy," Tony ordered.

"Yes sir."

The drive was smooth and Happy was able to get him there at a relatively fast pace. When he pulled over, Tony saw that the woman had yet to arrive. He waited in the car until he saw a taxi pull over and a young brunette step out. She wore a light grey trench coat over the longer green dress, her hair blowing in the cold night breeze.

She walked down the steps to the boardwalk and began to approach the water. Tony quickly slid out of the car, waving slightly to Happy and following the girl stealthily. She strolled down to the water and, after slipping out of her dark silver heels, knelt down on the wooden planks to touch the water. Tony watched as the water almost reached back, a finger-shaped form going to touch hers. As they met, Alexia let out a small sigh. At that moment, a bass surfaced and she smiled warmly at it. Suddenly, she called out.

"Tony, I know you're there," she said softly.

He jumped and realized that a small school of fish were staring at him from his side of the river. He sighed and stepped out from behind his makeshift hiding place.

"Hey Brookes," he greeted affectionately.

"Hey Stark," she giggled softly.

"So you're fish friends caught me in the act, eh?" He chuckled.

Despite slightly puffy eyes and stained mascara, she still looked stunning. Her skin looked smooth and flawless, her eyes were such a vibrant green and her lips were soft and a light red.

"I should've known," Alexia murmured quietly, "Why would any of _you_ want to hang out with _me?"_

"Hey, just because you're not an Avenger, doesn't mean we wouldn't want to hang out with you," Tony consoled.

"And why did you lie? I probably would've agreed if you'd just asked me to come and look around to see what it's like."

"When doing missions, we usually have to hide things from others, or lie to the targets. I suppose we didn't really think about your feelings when we were trying to recruit you. I'm sorry," he apologized, more for the entire group than just himself, though he still felt terrible.

"It's fine. I'm probably just being over-emotional anyway. I just really liked you guys and thought..." Lexy trailed off, but Tony knew what she would've said: _I thought you liked me too._

"We do like you! What I don't understand is why you're so against becoming an Avenger," Tony muttered.

"Well, I have friends at the university, one in particular who is the bestest friend I could've asked for, and I enjoy teaching the occasional class and doing my work around peers. Having my own lab sounds amazing, but it also sounds lonely. I mean, no offense to him, but look at Dr Banner. I know he has that whole other Hulk thing going on but he just seems so lonely when he's on his tablet doing work. And, again no offense, but you don't seem like the most trusting and open man I've ever met," she said, getting it off of her chest.

"What if you could stay at the university?" Tony offered, not entirely sure if he was allowed to change the offer but not caring, particularly.

"Still, I'd have to miss work all the time to come to meetings, do missions etc. They'd know something was up," she sighed, the ghost of a smile playing at her lips as she thought of Erin Seath, her best friend, and a few other coworkers.

Tony stayed silent, watching as the woman continued to drift her hand around the murky water of the river. He tried his best not to look revolted at the action.

"How can you stick your hand in that when you can't even see your fingertips through the dirt?" Tony asked.

"Just because it's murky doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. When freshwater meets an ocean, it churns up the sediment at the bottom, sending it all over the water and making it cloudy. Yes, in the East River there is a lot of contamination and pollution, but it's still relatively clean, clean enough to swim in, in fact. Plus, there's more life in water than you'd think, even city rivers like this. I come here to communicate to the creatures to remind myself of that."

Stark was in awe of the beautiful and intelligent woman in front of him.

"Wow, that's... I've never thought of it like that," he stuttered.

"Plus, it's easy for me to get dry. I just force off the droplets," Alexia added.

She demonstrated this by taking off her coat and sticking her entire arm in the water. Within seconds of emerging, the skin was dry again. Tony grinned at the trick and Lexy laughed at his impressed expression.

"Alexia, I-" he began before she interrupted.

"Please, my friends call me Lexy."

"Lexy, I really enjoyed talking to you, and I _am_ sorry for how we acted. I hope we can make it up to you?" He offered gently.

It took less than a second for her to make up her mind and nod.

"Just don't lie to me next time, m'kay?" She reasoned.

"Sure," he grinned, "Do you want a ride? My car is just over there."

Lexy nodded again and let Tony assist her in standing up. She slipped her heels back on and picked up her coat. Tony opened the door for her as she slipped into the backseat before joining her on the opposite side. They waited in comfortable silence as Happy drove them to her apartment.

"Bye Tony. I'll see you soon," she said softly.

"See ya Brookes," he smiled.

After ensuring that she was through the doors of the apartment complex, Tony told Happy to drive him back to the Avengers Tower, which didn't take very long. He approached the elevator.

"Jarvis, where is everyone?" He asked.

"The Avengers are currently located on Floor 15," Jarvis responded helpfully.

"Floor 15, then," he commanded.

The elevator quickly raised to the right floor and Tony stepped onto a shiny wooden floor. His team were all sat on the dark red couches in the middle of the room. Steve stood up as Tony entered.

"How was she?" He questioned worriedly.

"She's fine now. I took her back to her apartment and calmed her down," Tony replied quietly. Steve sighed with relief, slowly sitting back down.

"Does Lady Alexia wish to still be our friends?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, but she's still kind of angry that we lied to her so I suggest we don't do that again," Tony answered.

Most of the Avengers nodded slightly, except Natasha who merely continued to stare forward. Iron Man sat down and the group chatted for a little longer before finally retiring to their bedrooms.

 **So there you go! Did you like it? If not, why? Leave a review to explain! Again, sorry the actual plotline is taking so long, it'll be quite a few chapters yet.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! Thank you to everyone that's chosen to (or is still) following this story. I hope you enjoy the new chapter and don't forget to review and tell me what you think. Seriously, any issues, you can PM me or review about it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Marvel Comics and Marvel Cinematic Universe. I only own my OC's.**

 **Chapter 6 - It Was Only A Half-lie**

Alexia woke up to the steady buzzing and beeping of her alarm. She swiped her phone to silence the annoying sound and moaned as she sat up. Her pale blue walls stared back at her and the hard oak floor looked particularly uninviting. She was about to get 5 minutes more sleep when her phone continued to buzz, except thisg time it was a phone call. She picked it up.

"Hello?" She greeted wearily.

"Hey, Lexy, it's Tony. Just wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch with us at about 1?" Stark's happy voice invited.

"Why would you call me about that now?" Alexia almost screamed into the phone.

"Jarvis hacked into your phone to see when you woke up. I kind of made the plans last night," Tony answered hesitantly.

"It's 7:00 am, Tony," Lexy groaned.

"Good morning!" He chuckled before hanging up.

Now thoroughly irritated, Lexy stood up and got dressed into a plain black pencil skirt and white button up, pulling on a dark grey cardigan and heels on as well. She entered her lounge to feed the fish and get breakfast before heading out to work. Upon arriving at the Manhattan University of General Sciences, Lexy could tell that something was different. Students were flooding around her, teachers were grumbling about the noise and tiny explosions were happening all over the quad as usual, but something was up. She gingerly walked to her lab from behind the school, watching every person that went by carefully.  
Alexia soon found out what was bothering her when she opened the lab door to a completely new room. It was the same size and the walls were the same color but it was filled to the brim with the latest technology. She gaped at it as Erin, her sarcastic coworker, emerged from behind a new microscope, grinning from ear to ear.

"Lexy, _who the hell_ did you make friends with?" She queried joyfully, passing the brunette a small sheet of card.

On it was written: _To Brookes, from your new friend_ s. Alexia was speechless as she simply stared at all the newest inventions from the technology world.

"I-it's complicated..." She stuttered quietly.

"You know what? I don't care, I'm just going to say that you need to keep them close," Erin laughed.

During her lunch break, Alexia got a text from Tony explaining where they would be eating. She followed the directions to a small Chinese café. Through the window, she could see the team sitting at one of the tables. When they saw her, they waved her in. After hurrying in and sitting down, Lexy ordered a vegetable ramen.

"We're sorry for what we did yesterday, Alexia. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Clint started.

"It's ok, sorry for overreacting," she smiled.

"You didn't overreact," Steve quickly leapt in.

"Thank you for the new tech, by the way. My partner, Erin, was ecstatic," Alexia thanked.

"Erin...?" Tony asked.

"Erin Seath. She's been my best friend since... Since middle school I guess. She's the only family I have now," Lexy sighed.

"What happened to your parents?" Steve questioned.

Alexia grew quiet, thinking of an excuse to avoid the true answer.

"I was put into foster care when I was born. I only stopped moving when I was 12, in the middle of the first year middle school, but I still never really felt bonded to my adopted family," Alexia lied quickly, though the part about meeting Erin half-way through middle school was true.

"Where is your adopted family?"

"I still hang out with my brother sometimes but my parents live in England now," Alexia continued.

Dylan was basically her brother and Karen and Joe were like parents to her. Lexy could pull off this lie if she tried hard enough.

"What does your brother do?" Bruce asked.

"Dylan's an architect. He lives in Brooklyn but we meet up a lot," this time Alexia was telling the truth.

They continued to chat for a while. Fortunately, no one asked anymore questions about her past, thinking they'd learnt all there was, no doubt. Instead they talked about food, which somehow led to all the places Tony had visited on business versus Natasha as a spy. By the time they had finished lunch, Lexy's break was over. She quickly said her goodbyes and caught a taxi, which drive her straight to Manhattan University of General Sciences, or MUGS as it was affectionately nicknamed by the students.

As she burst into the lab right on time, Erin absentmindedly reminded her that her class was in 10 minutes, causing the brunette to have to run across the campus to the classroom where she was giving a lecture on the chromatophores and the abilities they give certain marine animals. The class was already half full as she arrived with 3 minutes to spare. Lexy quickly orgnised the presentation and her notes while catching her breath.

"Hello, I'm Miss Brookes, as some of you may know and today we'll be going through the properties that certain cephalopods, octopi and squids have due to chromatiphores and what these can be used for," she introduced as she switched on the screen behind her.

After the lesson, a few students asked her some questions. She walked along the corridor with them as they questioned her, determined to return to her lab as soon as possible. When she got there, only one student remained. Erin was soon able to shoo her off with a sarcastic attitude and Lexy sat down at her desk, where her new computer sat patiently.

"Geez, she would just not take a hint," Erin muttered as she returned to her own desk.

"I feel like you and Tony would get along," Alexia giggled as she glanced st her friend.

Erin was slightly shorter than Alexia was but just as smart. She could've been anything she wanted, but she chose to be a marine biologist so that she could work with Lexy. They had been friends since the first day they had met. Erin was snarky, confident and funny, with brown hair a shade darker than Alexia's and slightly shorter and chocolate brown eyes. The woman had protected Lexy from bullies all through middle and high school, even occasionally at university, and they had a strong bond because of it. They had known each for 16 years and, seeing as Alexia's memories of the time before they met were violent and lonely, Erin had become her closest confident, except for Dylan, maybe.

Erin didn't know about her powers, but she knew practically everything else. From favourite colour to dream job to high school crush, the two trusted each other immensely and didn't keep anything a secret. That's why Alexia felt so bad about keeping her powers a secret. Her only worry was that Erin, who enjoyed hearing rumors and passing them along, might accidentally tell someone.

"Lexy! Pay attention once in a while would ya?" Erin shouted irritably.

"What?" Alexia looked utterly bewildered.

"Who is Tony?" she queried.

"Oh he's just a friend," Lexy waved it off.

"You sure about that? Because I feel a ship emerging," she smirked mischievously.

"Erin, don't you dare!" Lexy warned.

"Tony, Lexy... Lony, Texy..." her friend muttered, dazed.

Lexy half-laughed and half-groaned at her best friend's antics. She continued with her work until the end of the day, occasionally getting teased by her coworker. When it was finally time to leave, she bid farewell to Erin.

"Oh, by the way, James and Kara and coming to the lab at some point over the next week," she remembered suddenly.

"What do they want?" Alexia groaned.

"Probably making sure that their _inferiors_ aren't doing better than them. Chris and Jonah will be there too, though," Erin sighed.

James and Kara were the head marine biologist and engineer, in charge of teaching most of the classes and maintaining the marine science budget. Chris and Jonah were the two of the marine engineers. They disliked Kara, their boss, and James, Erin and Alexia's, just as much as the biologists, but enjoyed hanging out with the two girls.

"What time?" Lexy continued.

"Probably sometime between 10 and midday. I wouldn't be too worried, they're probably just annoyed that we got our little gift this morning. We're ahead on tech now," Erin bragged.

"Urgh, what if they ask us to share it with them?" Alexia exclaimed with disdain.

"Then we can say that it was a gift and they have no right to it," Erin assured confidently.

The two waved quickly as they took different streets to get home. On her way back to her apartment, Alexia felt the discomforting feeling of being watched. She turned but the road was empty. Increasing her speed slightly, Lexy continued to walk home. Suddenly, her arm was grabbed. She immediately absorbed the water from nearby puddles, open drain pipes and the air, creating a small ball of liquid hovering between her slightly clenched fingers. It spun quickly, preparing to be thrown.

"Hey, it's me, ok? Calm down," came Steve's slightly frantic voice.

Relieved, Alexia let the sphere drop, unfortunately landing on their shoes and feet.

"Whoops! Oh god, sorry. But seriously, don't scare me like that," she scolded.

"I feel like you could handle yourself against anyone who tried you in the average street of Manhattan," Captain America chuckled.

"Whatever. Point is it's weird that you're skulking around New York in a black hoodie in the dark and creeping up on girls for no good reason," she stated angrily.

"For one, it's barely even dark yet. It's like 7:30 pm. Second, I _do_ have a reason, you just haven't let me explain yet," he huffed.

"Ok, try to justify your freaky behavior," Lexy challenged, folding her arms.

"Fine. I was just looking for a way to kill time, mainly by crime-fighting and I saw you. I thought you might want to join me," he replied, equally as confident.

"Why would I want to help you beat people up?" Alexia snorted.

"I only incapacitate them enough to make it easier for the police. Plus, they deserve it and, for all we know, I could be saving plenty of innocent lives," Steve reasoned.  
Alexia huffed, defeated. She glared at him for a second before grinning despite herself.

"Fine, I'll help," she agreed.

The two spent the rest of the night scowering the streets and alleyways for struggles, stopping them before the worst could happen.

 **Hope you enjoyed! If you didn't, tell me why, but try to keep it polite. Thanks again if you followed or favourited this story!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi, first of all, thanks for the support, I got some new reviewers, which is always nice. Just wanted to say, sorry for the abrupt ending of this chapter, if it seems that way, or the abrupt start of Chapter 8. I realized that this one was about 4500 words long so I split it in two.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any characters from Marvel Comics or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I only own my OC's (you meet a new one in this chapter!)**

 **Chapter 7 - Someone's Available**

Tony woke up to his bedroom in LA. He had left in the early afternoon of the previous day for an important meeting with his assistant. Pepper had been housekeeping with Jarvis while Tony was in New York. She would've joined him but her week schedule was booked up with various meetings in Los Angeles.

They had spoken about a lot of things: the state of the Avengers, the state of the company, the state of their relationship. The two had been dating for a while, but recently had found it hard to spend time together. Tony was too invested in the Avengers Initiative and Pepper was swamped looking after Stark Industries. They had slowly been growing apart and they both knew it.

That didn't mean that they didn't want to be friends any longer. Pepper knew that she would always be loyal to Stark and his company no matter what and Stark knew that no one would ever be able to replace the brilliant and organized mind of Virginia Potts. The romance just wasn't there anymore, so they had, by the end of their meet-up, decided to take a probably never ending break.

Tony groaned just thinking about it. Looking into her face, he had known that she was heartbroken but they were both aware of the space between them and she had tried her best to keep a calm composure. They had been through a lot together, but the two sometimes wondered if they had been through too much. The Iron Man was strong enough to stand the destruction and death he had the possibility of facing, but his assistant was a lot more naïve on the matter. They probably knew from the beginning that what they had wouldn't last forever, but neither of them realized how quickly it would take for the spark to settle

Tony stood up and got dressed into a casual pair of jeans and a plain dark blue shirt. He was flying back to New York at lunch so he needed to wear something comfortable. He strolled down the stairs.

"Jarvis?" he asked, "Where's Pepper?"

"Miss Potts is currently in a meeting, which ends in an hour," Jarvis informed.

"When's my flight?"

"In 3 hours, sir."

"What do I do for the next 3 hours, then?" Tony moaned childishly.

"I suggest you check on your latest idea. It has improved quite a bit since your last visit," Jarvis advised, "I had it tailored."

Tony nodded slightly and descended the stairs beside him. As he pressed in the numbers on the keypad next to the glass door, he heard a new voice from behind him.

"Hello, I'm Paige Seath," a woman introduced calmly, "I'll be your new assistant, Mr Stark."

"What? What happened to Pepper?" Tony almost yelled.

"She called me last night. She said to tell you that although she's happy working with you and for the company, she isn't comfortable being your personal assistant anymore, so here I am," Paige recalled.

"Look, we may be in a bad place right now, but Pepper is still my friend and no one could ever replace her," Tony snarled.

"I'm not disputing your friendship with Miss Potts, I'm merely here to help you with anything you may need. Pepper gave me all of your personal information and schedule," she stated clearly before noticing the ugly glare he sent her way, "Mr Stark, I have yet to meet you on an emotional level, so right now I don't know what your feeling. However, I can assure you that the moment Pepper wishes to return or decides to replace me, I will stand down. I'm only here to help."

Tony took in a deep breath and pushed his head into his hands. He looked up at the girl, taking in every single detail, including her reddish brown hair, dark brown eyes and shorter figure.

"Fine. You can stay, but you better be just as good as Pepper or you're out," Tony demanded moodily.

"I'll be going with you to New York by the way. I am ordered to be at your side at any possibility," Paige added.

Tony growled under his breath. It wasn't that he didn't like the young woman, it was just that he wished Pepper wasn't so uncomfortable around him. They had been dating for quite a few years, but they had been friends for longer. After locking himself in his workshop , Tony watched the young brunette march up the stairs.

"Ok. Jarvis, what have you got for me?" he muttered.

"I realize that when you first heard of a woman who could bend water to her will, it was in your nature, sir, to make her a costume, but don't you think this is going slightly overboard?" Jarvis enquired as Tony marveled at the suit he had created.

It was a shimmering, azure blue dress that reached mid-thigh. It was skin tight around the waste and above and the skirt clung to the upper legs, but it was also easily flexible. There were boots below it that were white and high-heeled and a headpiece formed by a pale blue band. On the wrists of the mannequin, metallic silver bracers with gems of different shades of blue encrusted on the top sat neatly, completing the outfit.

"What do you mean, Jarvis? This is perfect!" Tony chuckled.

"The appearance is perfect, yes, but it doesn't have any defense mechanisms or any protections at all, actually," Jarvis pointed out doutfully.

"Alexia doesn't _need_ protection! She defeated two massive robots in a dress and cardigan," Tony reminded.

"Maybe you should give her a weapon at least. Every other member of the Avengers has a symbol," Jarvis persevered.

"Fine! Geez, you are one determined AI. Wait! I've got a great idea," Tony suddenly exclaimed.

* * *

Hours later, Tony and Paige had just left the private jet, their luggage trailing behind them, and were sliding into a sleek modern car with Happy at the wheel.

"Happy, Paige. Paige, Happy," Tony introduced hurriedly, his mind on other, more exciting things.

"Hi!" Paige greeted informally.

"Miss Paige..." Happy replied hesitantly, staring at his boss.

"Oh, right. Paige is my new personal assistant," Tony explained briefly.

"What happened to Pepper?"

"We broke up. She's still working for the company and me but she felt uncomfortable still being my assistant," Tony continued.

The rest of the ride, the three sat in silence. When they arrived at the Avengers Tower, Paige gasped in wonder. Tony chuckled.

"Yeah, that happens a lot," he muttered, smiling.

"If you don't mind my saying, you seem in a better mood than you did this morning," she remarked.

"Yeah, well I've got a surprise for one of my friends. Speaking of friends, you'll be meeting the Avengers in a moment. Try not to freak out, they hate that.

"I don't 'freak out' on the job," Paige huffed.

"What about in your own time?" Tony smirked.

"I don't know but it doesn't matter because _you're_ never going to find out," Paige replied, raising a perfectly styled eyebrow.

Tony rolled his eyes and continues through the front doors, Paige quick on his heel. They swept past security and slipped onto the elevator.

"Welcome back, sir, Miss Seath," Jarvis greeted.

"You're _here_ to? Man, talk about multi-tasking," Paige muttered.

When they reached the right floor, they were saw the Avengers as well as Alexia sitting on a formation of couches. Paige gasped again.

"Lexy?" she practically whispered.

Said woman looked at her, bewildered, before recognizing her in a milisecond.

"Oh my God, Paige!" she shrieked happily, running over to Tony's new assistant and hugging her tightly. Tony frowned.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Paige asked.

"Oh well, um..." Alexia stammered.

Noticing the risky moment and realizing that Paige didn't know about Lexy's abilities, Steve took the opportunity to speak up.

"Alexia? Care to introduce us to your friend?"

"Oh right," the girl beamed, "This is Paige Seath. She's Erin's cousin, but they're practically sisters seeing as they lived in the same house for 8 years, went to the same school and look exactly alike apart from the fact that Paige dyed her hair a bit. Paige, this is Steve, Bruce, Clint, Natasha and Thor."

"Nice to meet you all, I guess," Paige said, flustered by Alexia's introduction.

"Sit down! Erin's gonna be so happy you're in New York, you were in LA for way too long," Lexy complained.

"That's because I have a _job,_ Lexy? In LA?" Paige sighed.

"And I have a job here. Doesn't stop _me_ from meeting up with Dylan," Alexia argued childishly.

"That's completely different and you know it. Dylan is way closer than I was. He's still in New York," Paige pointed out.

"Um, who's Dylan again?" Steve asked.

"My brother," Lexy half-lied.

Paige looked at her strangely but the light brunette just shook her head slightly, her pouty face becoming serious. They both stayed quiet.

"The one who lives in Brooklyn, right?" Clint recalled.

"That's him," Lexy smiled weakly, "We meet up at least once a month. Speaking of which, I need to call him. I can't remember if he's coming here or I'm going there."

Alexia got up, grabbing her phone, and left the room.

"So, Lady Seath, do you have a family in Los Angeles?" Thor queried.

"No. All I've got is my aunt who lives with me and a couple of friends from my old job," Paige explained vaguely.

"What was your old job?"

"Therapist," Paige answered simply.

"Well I hope being an assistant is working just as well," Tony grinned.

"It's not so bad so far," she shrugged.

"You're joking! Dylan, you promised," they heard Lexy whimper.

"Dylan recently got permission to build some big commercial building. He's really excited but he's swamped with work. He already blew off Lexy a few weeks ago for her parents' death anniversary," Paige explained.

"Dyl, I _know_ this is important to you but you're important to _me._ I haven't seen you in ages," Lexy yelled.

Suddenly she went silent. The other line was quiet but they could hear a faint murmuring.

"Seriously? Why didn't you tell me? Wait, when? Are you kidding?" Alexia continued softly.

The call soon ended and Lexy walked back in, looking slightly distressed.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked gently.

"Urgh, my parents are coming back and we're having a... _Family dinne_ r," Lexy groaned.

"I don't see the problem..."

"My... Parents and I don't really see eye to eye. Plus they'll be praising Dylan on his promotion and asking me why I have yet to make a 'scientific breathrough'," she sighed.

"Maybe Erin and I could come with? We haven't seen your parents since senior year," Paige offered.

"There's a reason for that," Lexy mumbled, "They disapproved of my... Obsession with fish. Said I could've become anything and stupidly chose to study aquatic life."

"Well at least you'll be seeing your brother," Tony tried.

They began a lighter conversation after that before Alexia asked Tony if Paige could come with her to see Erin. He begrudgingly agreed and Paige was whisked off and out of the building.

"Erin is going to be SO happy. She hasn't seen you in at least a year," Alexia rambled.

Paige stayed quiet. Alexia had always been friends with both of them but Paige had always felt that Lexy had a stronger bond with Erin, seeing as they were the first to meet in middle school and Erin had followed her into the career of marine biology. Paige and her sister had fallen out slightly before she had left for LA but, over the years, they had reconnected. Last year, after the death of Erin's brother, Ryan, the two had fallen out again, and neither of the cousins were sure if they were ready to make up.

Soon, Paige and Alexia had arrived outside of Erin's house. The street was dark and quiet, the only noises being Lexy's yammering and the faint splashing of water from a nearby gutter. They knocked on the door and it was soon opened by one of Erin's roommate. She lived with a friend and a friend's friend. Neither of which did she know as well as Alexia, though. They would've gotten a hose together but they couldn't find one with room for her aquarium that they could afford.

"Oh, hey Alexia! Hello Paige. Erin is in the living room," Harriet, the friend, directed them as the door was pulled open wider.

"Thanks, Harriet!" Lexy said excitedly.

She skipped past the slightly older woman and, pulling Paige along by the wrist, entered the lounge. Erin was snuggled up in the corner of the couch, watching a comedy programme. She looked up at their entrance and smiled, though the smile faultered when she saw her cousin.

"Paige? What are you doing in town?" she asked, confused.

"I'm Tony Stark's new assistant," Paige explained briefly.

Erin raised her eyebrows and frowned.

"What happened to his girlfriend? The one you knew from university?" she questioned.

"Pepper. They broke up. She called me the same night to offer the job. They're still working together for the company, but she's being distant," Paige responded.

Lexy was about to speak and break the awkward atmosphere, but a buzz from her phone interrupted the awkward conversation.

"Urgh, Paige, we have to go. Tony has something important to tell us or something," she whined.

"Wait, Lexy, how do you know Stark?" Erin queried, "Don't you dare say you're involved with him because I've heard rumors and you are _way_ to smart for that."

Alexia blushed slightly and shook her head vigorously.

"We're working together on something," she half-lied. It was sort of true, "I'll tell you more later."

Erin sighed passive aggressively and shook her head slightly, looking away from the pair. They took this as a motion to leave and hurried out of the door.

"That went well," Paige muttered.

"It could've gone better but at least you're making progress. I wonder what Stark wants," Alexia pondered.

"I don't really care, I'm just glad I could get out of _that,"_ Paige mumbled

 **I hope you liked it! If you have any questions or suggestions, be sure to post them in a review. If you have any complaints, please keep it polite!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Helloooo! Sorry about not updating yesterday, I completely forgot until, like, 12 AM or something and, as much as I care about this story, I wasn't in the mood to get out of bed and turn my computer on just to upload a new chapter, sorry. Anyway, thank you to the new followers and the reviewers, whether they be old or new. Hope you enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Marvel, just my own OC's.**

 **Chapter 8 - The Siren**

Alexia frowned but said nothing at Paige's comment. She loved the cousins very much and thought of them as her closest friends, but she could never understand their rivalry. They always found a reason to get mad and, though Lexy understood the death of a family member was serious, she couldn't comprehend how Ryan's funeraly had led to an argument.

When they arrived back at the Avengers Tower, they saw Steve, Tony and Bruce. After raising an eyebrow, they infirmed the two that Clint and Natasha were on mission and Thor was in Asgard. Stark looked particularly excited, but also slightly nervous.

"Brookes, I feel like you're going to get mad at me for this but I need you to understand that I began designing this the moment I heard about your powers. Which was about a month or two ago," he started cautiously.

"Just get to the point, Stark," Steve sighed.

"Right, so Fury mentioned a woman with the ability to control water a couple of months ago and I thought it would be fun to... Make you a costume. Now, I know that you aren't interested in becoming a superhero, but Jarvis had it tailored in LA and showed it to me. I thought you might at least want to see it," Tony retold quickly.  
Alexia stayed placid, but a spark of anger was evident in her eyes. Stark hastened out if the room and returned within a few moments, wheeling a covered mannequin on a large pedestal. Stopping it in the centre of the room, Tony licked his lips and faced the four-person audience.

"I present to you, the Siren," he announced, glee eminating from his body language.

He revealed the costume by pulling back the cloth that hid it. Steve's eyes widened but his mouth soon formed a surprised smile. Bruce looked at it, tilting his head with a confused expression. Alexia gasped and stared at the outfit with an unreadable look masking her face.

"I am so confused," Paige stated, utter bewilderment etched onto her otherwise graceful features.

The other four looked at her as if they had only realized her presence. Tony jumped and tried to stand in front of the uniform before realizing that his efforts were futile. Alexia's unreadable fave broke into a look of sudden shock and anxiety. Steve and Bruce looked highly uncomfortable.

"Paige! Oh my god, I forgot you were there! You _can't_ tell Erin," Lexy exclaimed.

"I don't know what to tell _anyon_ e at this point. Can someone explain what's going on?" Paige retorted.

Alexia bit her bottom lip with anguish and defeat. There was nothing left to do but tell the truth. How could she have been so _stupid_ as to forget that one of her closest friends was right beside her? She sighed and ran a delicate hand through her light brown hair.

"Can we go to the roof, Paige? I have a _lot_ to say," Lexy offered.

Paige nodded but crossed her arms. She followed the 28 year-old into the elevator, where they informed Jarvis of where to go. Alexia stayed silently, going through what she would say in her head. Paige turned sway from her friend on quiet indignation, having no idea what was going on. When they reached the slightly chilly building top, Lexy turned to her friend and took a deep breath.

"I have powers. Like comic book, sci-fi TV show, superhero movie type powers. I can control water and communicate with fish and occasionally create water myself, if there is enough water vapour in the air. I've had them since before you knew me and I'm sorry I never told you but I was afraid that you might think of me as a threat and when I finally learnt to trust you and Erin, I thought it was too late and that you'd be angry at me for lying to you for so long and so the time kept on building up and an opportunity never arised. I was going to tell both of you at Ryan's funeral but you fell out with Erin and..." she informed desperately.

Paige softened at the worries look upon the young woman's face and dropped her arms.

"Lexy, we wouldn't have minded if you'd just told us after about a year in middle school. We were friends, you could've told us anything. Sure, it's kind of weird finding out that someone you know isn't what you thought they were and I'm mad now but I'm more disappointed that I had to find out by myself," Paige sighed.

"I know and I'm _so_ sorry. When I first saw you with Tony, I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to tell you and Erin, but when she saw you, you both seemed so distant and I changed my mind. There are so many times that I wanted to tell you. I can tell the whole story if you'd like," Alexia offered.

"No. I don't want to know anymore until you've told Erin. You are way closer to her than you are with me and I feel like I'm betraying her. Tell Erin what you just said to me and then you can explain the rest to both of us," Paige decided.

Lexy nodded fervantly. At that moment, her phone rang. She picked it up and checked the caller ID. Seeing that it was Dylan, she answered.

" _Hey Lexy. Just wanted to tell you that Karen and Steve are arriving in New York tomorrow afternoon. They want to have dinner with us in the evening. You don't have any plans , do you?"_ Dylan stated.

"Don't just assume that I don't have plans," she snapped, "But, luckily for you, I don't. Where are we eating?"

" _Some fancy restaurant in South Manhattan. I'll text you the details tomorrow,"_ Dylan responded.

"I'll se you there, then," Alexia sighed before hanging up and turning back to Paige, "I'll tell her at work tomorrow," she promised.

It was Paige's turn to nod and she did so efficiently and swiftly. They both walked back into the elevator, where Lexy stated her desire to return to Stark, Barton and Rogers and Paige informed both Jarvis and Alexia that she planned to go home.

"Tell Stark that I'm staying in a hotel nearby and I left the name and address with Mr Hogan," she ordered both people listening.

"Bye, Paige. I'll see you soon," Lexy waved as she stepped out of the lift.

Jarvis relayed the information before Alexia could even open her mouth. Tony nodded and turned his attention to the woman hopefully. She tilted her head to the side in mild confusion.

"Well?" he prompted, "What did you think?"

Alexia suddenly understood the questions and realised that he was talking about her suit. She looked it over again. She liked the color scheme of the shades of blue and white. Plus, the material didn't look particularly uncomfortable. The skirt was short, but Lexy understood that that was needed for easy accessibility and freedom. The only thing that worried her was the lack of protection it offered. After voicing her doubts, Jarvis was quick to reply.

"That was my thought exactly, Miss Brookes," he added.

"Which is why I added some defense mechanisms," Tony growled at the AI system, "Each of those four gems on the bracer has a different ability."

Alexia walked over to inspect the costume in further detail. It's slightly dark blue color reminded her of the deep Mediterranean sea and the boots were like sea foam, an almost unnoticeable touch of pale blue combined with pure white. The band on her head was plain but pretty. It was thin and made of a delicate satin-like material and extended from each ear. She imagined that if she were to wear it, Lexy would tie her hair in a low bun at her neck. Examining the bracers she decided to continue investigating.

"What do each of the gems do?" she queried.

There were four on each arm. The one nearest the wrist was a midnight blue, dark and mysterious. The one below it was teal, like an English ocean. The third one was an aquamarine, clear and shiny. The last was a soft powder blue.

"The dark one collects water vapour from the air to make it easier to create a new source of water. You still have to be the one to form the water but it helps save your power. The teal one can use some of your energy to create a cloud above you. It's probably the most powerful one so only use it on occasion. The aquamarine sends a signal to any sea creatures nearby, like a warning of danger or a message for help. The animals will wait near the water's edge to help you in any possible way. The powder blue one creates a transparent shield around you and anyone you are holding on to. This is drawn from your power too and, though it's relatively easy to do, don't use it for too long," Tony described in detail, "They only react to your touch and you have to press on them for at least a few seconds."

Alexia was speechless. The amount of effort this must've taken him was incredible.

"How much did this cost? How much time did you spend on it?"

"Actually I put the whole 'each gem has an ability' thing in this morning. Oh! As well as this," he answered, scurrying out of the room and this time returning with a whip.

It was white and made from what seemed to be leather. On the handle was a faint carving of a drop of water.

"Jarvis and I thought that, seeing as we all have a symbol, a weapon that we use all the time, you should have one too," Tony justified.

"Where did you get the idea of a whip from?" Lexy questioned.

"I don't know, to be honest. I guess it's just because the movement of a wave could be compared to the swish of a whip," he pondered.

"Well it's definitely cool. I'm just sorry that I won't be using it," Alexia sighed.

"You still have no intention of becoming an Avenger?" Bruce frowned.

"No. I like my life and I don't really have a reason to change it," Lexy looked at the time, "Sorry, I need to go, it's getting late and an aquarium doesn't take care of itself."

The three men smiled weakly as they watched the woman leave. Once the elevator doors had closed, Tony groaned.

"She's _never_ going to join us. We might as well tell Fury that it's a lost cause," he whined.

"Give it some time, Stark," Steve calmed, "Just because your little marvel didn't work, doesn't mean nothing will."

 **Hope you enjoyed! If you didn't, politely tell me why. If you did, follow and favourite! Also, although I am having trouble with the new chapters, check out my other story: a Spider-man fanfic called The Firebird (Peter x OC).**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, here's Chapter 9! Thanks to everyone that is following, has favourited or did review this story, we got to 50 followers, yay! Anyway, something dramatic happens in this one, so here you go!**

 **Disclaimer: I own no Marvel characters used in this story, only my OC's.**

 **Chapter 9 - Erin and Paige**

The next morning, Alexia got a text from Erin announcing that today was the day that Kara and James, as well as the marine engineers, were inspecting their lab. _Great,_ she thought irritably, _Now when am I going to get a chance to talk to Erin._ Put off by the news, Lexy continued to tie her hair into a simple ponytail, stick on some clothes and go to work. When she got there, the bosses had already arrived.

"Ah, Miss Brookes. It's about time," Kara started.

"We recieved word that you had got some new equipment? We are here to enquire as to where it came from," James continued.

"It was a gift from a friend," Lexy responded plainly.

"What kind of friend replaces all of your stuff with state-of-the-art technology as a _gift?"_ Kara almost shrieked.

Erin, who had been leaning against the counter next to Chris and Jonah, the marine engineers, stood up and stopped at Alexia's side

"That's her personal business and none of your concern," she stated firmly.

"Still, wouldn't the right thing to do be to share this technology with the others in your department?" James said, "The bylaws state that any donation given to a department must be shared equally between each member of said department."

"This wasn't a donation, though. It was an individual gift," Chris reminded.

"Why are you on _their_ side?" Kara hissed, "Don't _you_ want any new equipment?"

"Not if it's stolen from a friend," Jonah replied.

"You have no right to the tech. If you came here for anything else, however, we are happy to oblige," Erin smirked.

The rest of the day was spent keeping an eye on their bosses, who examined every piece of new equipment and ensured that every single assignment they had set the biologists had been completed. By the end of the day, Erin and Alexia had had no private time to talk and were particularly aggravated. Lexy was in no mood to meet with Karen, Joe and Dylan, but couldn't think of a single way out of it.

Therefore, later that night, Alexia, dressed in a magnificent, slimming red dress, entered a posh Italian restaurant to find her adoptive parents and brother sitting around a table. Dylan waved her over and hugged her as she approached. Karen and Joe smiled warmly. Lexy sat down.

"Sorry I was late. Work overran slightly," she apologized.

"Still working at that university, are you?" Joe frowned, all charades of a friendly demeanor vanishing.

"Joe, be civil," Karen scolded quietly.

"I was just explaining how my building is at the edge of lower Manhattan. It'll be easily viewed from Brooklyn," Dylan boasted.

"Well at least all those boring nights working out the smallest of details so you don't get fired will pay off," Alexia muttered.

"So how is being a marine biologist going? I'm sure you must've come to realize that you could do a lot better by now?" Joe continued.

"No, it's still as fascinating as ever. You know, because I enjoy it?" Lexy almost growled.

"You had so much potential. Look at Dylan, he moved away from his... _Abilitie_ s as soon as he could. Why couldn't you do the same?" Karen whined.

Dylan, like Alexia, had gained powers before the age of 12. They had been close growing up because of this, but Karen and Joe disliked their power and had tried to push them away from it. Dylan was able to manipulate fire and heat and had, from a young age, wanted to become a volcanist. However, after being dissuaded by his adoptive parents, he decided to become an architect.

"Because having powers isn't something to be ashamed of, no matter how I got them. They're not going away any time soon so I might as well embrace them," Alexia reasoned.

"If you forget about them, they are basically gone," Joe countered.

"Dylan, did you ever forget about your powers? Did you stop using them to keep yourself warm in winter or to heat up your meals faster?" Alexia challenged.

Dylan looked highly uncomfortable. Torn between the truth and his parents' standards, he stayed silent, staring at his lap. Lexy smirked and crossed her arms. After a meal of steady bickering and patronizing glares, Alexia paid for her portion of the cheque and left. Once safely in a taxi, Lexy picked up her phone and dialed Erin's number. She didn't answer so the brunette left a message.

"Erin, I'm coming over. Karen and Joe put me in the worst mood ever and I need to tell someone about it. I also have something really important I need to tell you and I need to do it in person," she said quickly.

However, when she arrived at Erin's house, Lexy instantly grew uneasy. Several police cars were pulled up on the street and Alexia caught a glimpse of Harriet in distress, with tears sliding down her face. Leaping out of the cab, Alexia sprinted to the scene. A police officer tried to stop her, but she shoved past. When Harriet saw her, the redhead rushed forward. The two girls hugged for a couple of seconds before Alexia spoke.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

"I-I came home about half an hour ago. Er-Erin said th-that she'd be home so I w-wasn't surprised when the l-lights were on. I w-went into the living room and th-there was a m-man with a m-mask there. He was s-standing over E-Erin's ...dead body," the girl wept.

Standing next to Harriet was Michelle, the other roommate. She looked visibly shaken and was standing completely still.

"I-I called the police b-but he ran away," Harriet continued.

"I'm very sorry for your loss but do either of you know any relatives of the deceased?" a detective asked softly.

"I know her cousin," Alexia stated, her voice breaking as drops of crystal rolled down her pale face.

The detective nodded and Lexy rang Paige's number.

"What's up? Did you tell Erin yet?" came the woman's voice.

"Paige, E-Erin is... Erin's dead," Alexia cried.

There was silence on the other end for a second before a quiet, broken voice spoke out.

"What?"

"She-She was m-murdered," Lexy whispered, barely believing the words escaping her own mouth.

"No. No she isn't. Your lying. I spoke to her earlier, she was fine, she told me about what Kara said," Paige rambled.

"Paige, she's not here anymore. Please, just come to her house. I need you," Alexia wept.

Paige hung up.

"Paige!" Lexy screamed, blinded by tears and deafened by her own sobs and shaky breaths.

"Miss, I know this is a hard time for you but do you know anything about anyone that might've wanted to hurt Miss Seath? Or do you know any man in a dragon mask?" another detective enquired.

Alexia let out a short, interrupted gasp. She knew someone in a dragon's mask. She wished she could forget him but every detail of his disguise was clearly etched into her brain. She shook her head.

"No," she lied.

The detective nodded unsurely and backed away.

"I never even got to tell her my secret," Alexia murmured, her stained face covered by locks of wet hair as the sky rumbled and raindrops pitter-pattered around her.

* * *

A month later, after a pointless investigation, Erin's funeral was held. Her parents had arrived from Washington, Paige had helped Alexia plan it after finally realizing that it was the truth and plenty of friends had turned up. Even Dylan and Lexy's parents were there. Erin had made it very specific that she wanted her funeral to be light and happy, remembering all of the good times they had had instead of mourning the times they would never spend together again. People wore white instead of black, the graveyard had numerous flowers and the decorations were mainly glass statues and white roses.

Despite the happy atmosphere that Erin tried to create even in death, no one was happy. The mood was depressing and regretful, but no one was more in pain than Alexia. Her last phone call to her best friend was Lexy's selfish complaining about a bad dinner, and she never even got to tell her the truth. Paige had been quiet since her cousin's passing. For the first week she had stayed in her hotel room, not talking to anyone and barely eating. When Lexy finally coaxed her out of the hotel, the police had attacked her about their investigation and forced her to answer some questions.

When the investigation had finally been announced inconclusive, the two had begun the preparations. They had taken time off work and neither had spoken to the Avengers. Everyone Erin knew had turned up. Kara, James, Chris and Jonah were there, Paige had called every family member she knew and Alexia and Harriet had sought out every friend Erin had ever had. When it was time for the eulogy, Alexia stood up and walked to the front.

Before starting, she glanced at the peaceful face of her best friend. Erin had died of knife wounds to the stomach. The man in the dragon mask had cut her stomach into a zig zag spiral. Now she was wearing a sleeveless, lacey white dress and her face had been perfected with make-up.

"I've been friends with Erin since middle school. She was actually the first person I met and we instantly liked each other. In fact, she was one of the only friends I made at school and we were lucky enough to stay together through middle school, high school and university. We even joined the same career, although I think she just didn't want me to be alone.

"My point is that I have known her for a long time and we have remained close since an early age. I loved her like a sister and there was never a dull moment when she was around. Now that she's gone I... I don't really know what to do. She deserved so much more, to live so much longer. The only thing we can do is hope to avenge her somehow."

At this point, Lexy stopped. Her cheeks were glistening with tears and her lip was quivering ever so slightly but she knew what she had to do now. After finishing the eulogy and burying her best friend, Alexia approached the grave.

"I'm sorry I never told you, Erin. I really, _really_ wanted to but I thought you wouldn't trust me or accidentally tell someone. But I know what I must do now. I'm going to avenge you. I'm going to make up for all the mistakes I made and the fact that I... Couldn't save you. I'll save others in your name, I swear," she promised quietly.

Eventually, the crowd dissipated and only Paige and Lexy remained.

"Paige, I'm going to talk to the Avengers. You can come if you want?" she offered.

"No, I think I'll go home now," Paige sighed, not daring to tear her eyes away from her cousin's grave.

Alexia touched her shoulder gently and nodded before swiveling around and calling a cab. She marched into the Avengers Tower and Jarvis lifted her to the floor where the Avengers were relaxing. Upon her entry, they stared at her with pity and sadness, making her feel more than a little uncomfortable. However, she continued to stand tall.

"I've decided to join the Avengers," she announced.

Everyone was silent, their faces morphing into expressions of shock.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Tony asked gently.

"I know who killed my best friend."

 **Dun dun DUN. Hope that hit you heavy. If it didn't, politely tell me why not in a review. Hope you can't wait until the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello! Left you on a bit of a cliffhanger, eh? Anyway, thank you to everyone who is following and has favourited, and especially to those that have reviewed. By the way, the paragraphs that are separated by single line breaks mean the same person is talking.**

 **Disclaimer: I own none of the Marvel characters, just my OC's.**

 **Chapter 10 - The Man in the Dragon Mask**

The Avengers' faces went from shock to disbelief in less than a second. Alexia thought she should probably explain in more detail.

"Well, not exactly _wh_ o, but I know what he does and I think I know why he... Killed her," she reiterated.

"No offense, but care to explain a little more?" Clint prompted. Lexy sighed.

"I know this is kind of hypocritical but I lied to you about my past. I wasn't put into foster care. At the age of 4, I witnessed my parents' death and was kidnapped. I was experimented on along with 19 other children of around my age. This 'programme' was run by a man in a Chinese-style dragon mask, which he wore whenever he was around us. For 8 years, I would go through the same routine everyday: a sort of shower with runny yellow liquid, an assembly gathering with all of the children and the man in the mask, experiments and then study.  
"I met Dylan there. He was a year or so older than me. Within the first two years, they had given me my power and helped me to perfect it. I remember the procedures hurt like hell and if any of us spoke when we weren't supposed to or did anything we weren't allowed to do, we would be punished. Dylan was given the power to manipulate fire and warmth. Within the first 5 years, almost all of the children had perfected their ability. In the last three years Dylan and I were there, every kid was taught how to fight, educated to a point well above our age and trained to follow orders from our superiors. A year before we escaped, the man in the mask explained that we were his army, trained to protect and fight for him alone. By that year, only 10 of us were left. The other half had died from the experiments, punishments or stress.  
"In the last year, rumours circulated that someone from the outside had somehow got in. The ones who had been brainwashed to the point of no return believed that these people should be killed on sight. There were others of us who believed that this could be our way out. Some of the older kids still remembered what the outside was like. One night, Dylan woke me up. He was standing next to two adults and 4 of the other kids. He explained that we were going to escape. It wasn't long before one of the brainwashed kids realized what was going on and called our superiors. They chased us until only Dylan, the adults and I remained. The others were shot down. We barely got our alive, but when we finally left, we were in debt to the adults. They were Karen and Joe. They adopted us," Alexia Avengers were speechless. The ghost of a smile appeared on Lexy's face at their slightly dubious expressions, "We were enrolled into middle school and that's where I met Erin. Karen and Joe raised us, but they tried to make us ignore our abilities, told us to just get on with our lives and forget it even happened, but I didn't want to forget. I wanted to use my powers for good. Dylan was more easily persuadable and became an architect. That's why I don't get along with my 'family' very much."

More silence. Finally, Tony opened his mouth.

"Well that explains a lot," he stated.

"Yeah," Lexy laughed in a single breath.

"Wait, so your back story is that you were kidnapped, experimented on and trained to be evil, then escaped? Is that not reason enough to become a masked vigilante?" Clint queried.

"I was 12 when I escaped. I wasn't about to become the youngest superhero ever. When I grew up, I cared more about getting a job than I did about saving the world. Plus, Karen and Joe were constantly trying to stop me from doing anything so I stopped trying to do big things with my powers," Lexy shrugged.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Steve asked gently. Alexia laughed humorlessly.

"I hadn't told my own best friends, what makes your think I would tell a bunch of strangers?" she countered.

"Well at least you've told us now," Bruce smiled.

"So anyway I don't feel like ever going back to MUGS, and there's practically nothing else holding me back now, so can I join?"

"Brookes, we've been waiting for you to agree since we first met you," Tony smirked.

"Oh! Ok then. Which floor's mine?"

* * *

After a week, Alexia had comfortably moved in to Floor 12 and her lab equipment to Floor 13. Her living space was now considerably bigger than her old apartment and much more comfortable, seeing as Stark had paid for more furniture and decorations. The only Avenger who wasn't completely fine was Natasha, which Alexia still didn't understand as she had tried her best to start a conversation with her. That morning, Lexy decided to invite Paige over to try on her costume. The woman had yet to return to work and Alexia thought this would be a good time to brighten her spirits a bit.

"Why am I here again, Lexy?" she sighed.

"Because, I need to try on my costume and I thought you might like a distraction," Alexia called from behind a panel screen.

"Well how long is it going to take?"

"What do you have planned? Need to be back by 3:30 for another session of wallowing in your own misery?" Lexy muttered.

Paige stayed quiet and turned away.

"I'm sorry, Paige. I didn't mean that. It's just-"

"It's fine. Just because you are completely ok with forgetting Erin ever existed in the time space of less than two months," Paige mumbled.

"I'm going to forget that you said that because we are all in mourning and people have different ways of coping," Alexia stated with fake positivity obvious in her voice.

The room grew silent again, only the occasional sounds of Lexy's struggling breaking the tense atmosphere. After a few moments, Alexia emerged from the screen, wearing the blue outfit. Her hair was pulled back behind the headband into a neat bun that rested at the length of her neck. The suit fit well, making it easy for Lexy to move around despite the tight material.

"What do you think?" she asked shyly.

Despite herself, Paige grinned.

"You look great, Lexy," she complimented, any anger she had felt fading away.

Before Alexia could thank her, Tony, Steve and Thor came sidling into the room.

"Wow," Tony started, "You look amazing."

"Lady Alexia, you are positively glowing," Thor complimented in a proper manner.

"You look stunning," Steve smiled.

"Oh, hi Paige. Jarvis told me that Pepper was trying to get in touch with you, by the way," Tony greeted.

"Thanks, Mr Stark," Paige murmured as she grasped her phone and walked out of the room.

"Which floor is the training room, again?" Lexy asked.

"Floor 15."

The four walked into the elevator and Alexia motioned the number to Paige, who nodded as she listened to Pepper on the other end of the device. The trip on the lift was quiet. When they arrived on the right floor, Lexy immediately garbbed her whip and dashed to stand in front of a target.

"Be careful, Lady Alexia. The art of the whip is difficult to master," Thor cautioned.

Lexy flexed her wrist, sending the whip hurtling towards the chest of the target. Upon meeting it's mark, the whip slashed the bullseye and retracted slightly whilst falling to the floor. She then swung the whip around her side and above her head before sending it forward. It struck the target's head precisely in the middle. The third move she tried simply sent the whip forward, where it sliced through the target's shoulder. Alexia then thrust her entire body forward and leaned to one side. The whip curled itself around the target's hand at lightning speed before Lexy pivoted again and the whip fell to the side. Finally, Alexia sent the whip forward, where it curled around the target's bullseye and pulled it forward.

"Never mind then," Thor muttered.

The other two were silent in awe. Lexy turned around to look at them, her face innocent and happy.

"Can I try my gems, now?" she asked.

"Go ahead, your fight simulator through that door," Tony directed.

The three men stood behind the one way glass and gawked as Alexia readied herself for battle. There was a pool of water in each corner of the room, like on the Helicarrier, and water pipes circulating around the room.

At first, a single humanoid made of grey shards was formed. It lunged at the young woman, who merely sidestepped and punched it in the back. It shattered on impact, the shards falling to the ground before fading completely. Next, 5 identical figures appeared. 2 had guns while the others had various melee weapons. They circled around her. The guns were trained on her temples and the other weapons were held in front of their owners. Slowly, Lexy raised her arms. In each of the pools, a sphere of water began to levitate. When her arms were in front of her, she clapped them together. At the exact moment they touched, the balls of water shot towards Alexia, taking out 2 of the 5.

She then pressed the pale blue gem and the water collected into a protective dome around her. Every strike or shot from the hostiles was merely deflected. However, when Lexy pressed the midnight blue gem, collected the remaining water vapour from the air and sent it speeding swiftly at the opposers, it passed through the shield effortlessly. The shards of her victims, however, didn't disappear as they had done with the first. They vibrated and shot together, all meeting in front of her and forming a new monster. At least twice the size of the others and carrying a staff that reached to its shoulders. It leaned back, as if getting ready to pounce.

"Maybe we should stop it," Steve suggested worriedly.

"What are you talking about? The lady has barely started," Thor roared with amusement.

Tony stayed silent and merely watched carefully. The pools in each corner were shallow, but there was still enough left. Alexia eyed the giant and frowned, waiting for it to attack, but it merely remained still. Lexy relaxed slightly but as she did the creature sprung at her. Having no time to dodge, Alexia felt the full force of the creature's punch, being thrown backwards into the wall. After sliding to the ground, Lexy stumbled to her feet. A trail of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth and she stretched to release the ache from her joints. The giant stood still again, but Alexia doubted that Stark had programmed them to play the same trick twice.

As if in a duel, the two circled each other, weighing up their options. Lexy was the first to strike, flicking her hand from one side to the other. The water from one of the pools mimicked her action and hit the giant in the side, causing it to stumble. Alexia took this opportunity to gather the remaining water from each pool, rest it above the giant and slam it down onto its head. The shards split as the water seeped through them and the monster was no more. Alexia keeled over, gasping for breath. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. Chunks of metal burst from the walls around her and created yet another monster. This one was a mismatch of iron, cement and rust. It was slower than it's predecessor but a lot stronger. It flung its own hand at her. Lexy was barely able to dodge it but a scrape of metal came loose and cut her cheek.

"What the frick frack snick snack was that for?" Alexia cried out in a desperate attempt not to swear at the stinging pain on her cheek.

Fueled by sudden rage, Alexia held her hands parallel to each other and slapped them together. Suddenly, pipes from behind the walls broke and stuck out. The water from these pipes shot out and reverberated against the thick metal skin of the newest giant. However, the water could find no weak spots and the monster continued to lumber towards the brunette. Running out of options, Alexia grabbed her whip and swished it in front of her. She curled it around one of the giant's legs and swept it to the side, making the monster fall to the ground. Lexy darted to it and, pressing the dark blue gem again, formed one last spear from water vapour. She stabbed it into the giant's chest. Finally breaking through it's iron barriers, the water made the monster liquefy and spark.

"Are we done now?" Alexia growled.

"The course is now finished," Jarvis agreed.

"Great, where's the door?"

"You'll find the exit opening behind you."

Alexia turned and marched out. She was greeted by the sight of Tony holding a first aid kit. Only then did she realize that her cheek was bleeding, she still tasted iron in her mouth and there was a sharp pain in her back. She slumped forward.

"Hey, Stark. Where'd Thor and Steve go?"

"There's a meeting upstairs," he explained vaguely.  
"Then why didn't you go too?"

"Because you got hurt," Tony muttered.

"Barely. I got a scratch on my cheek and a bruise on my back," Lexy snorted.

"Well _someone_ had to stay behind."

"Thanks for the thought but I really don't need your help," Alexia refused politely.

"Brookes! The more you refuse the longer this is going to take because I'm not leaving until you let me help you," Tony barked.

Alexia sighed and sat down on a resting bench nearby. Tony followed and opened the kit. He rubbed a small bit of antiseptic on the deep cut on her cheek before attempting to stick a plaster on it. She put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"That won't be necessary," she smiled, "All I need is a bottle of water for small wounds."

"What about your back?" Tony queried.

"I can't feel anything anymore," she shrugged.

"That's not necessarily a good thing."

"In fact," came a new voice, "That's almost definitely _not_ a good thing."

The pair looked up to see Paige staring at Lexy gingerly.

"Lexy, come with me. I feel like you have more than a bruise."

"I'll meet you guys on Floor 10. That's where the meeting is."

The two women waved to the genius playboy billionaire philanthropist as he hopped into the elevator. After he left, they went to Alexia's floor and Lexy changed into a pair of shorts and a baggy shirt. She lifted the shirt to display her back and her eyes widened at Paige's gasp.

"What? How bad is it?" she asked hurriedly.

"Remember that time when we went camping in the 8th grade and that exchange student fell down a hill in the middle of the forest and they had to call an ambulance?" Paige recalled.

"Yes?" Alexia replied weakly.

"It looks about twice as worse. Luckily for you, a 28 year old has a better chance of healing quicker than a 14 year old."

"Plus, I get better faster if I drink water," Lexy added.

"Right," Paige muttered as she crossed the room, opened the mini fridge and snatched a fresh bottle.

"Thanks. Anyway, how long is it going to take to stitch it up?"

Paige looked at the gaping wound on Lexy's lower back. It was still bleeding, staining the edges of her shirt.

"We'll have to work quickly. Harriet's a nurse, you know. I know we haven't spoken to her since ... The funeral, but I could call her," she suggested.

"No, that's not necessary. It doesn't feel so bad, I'm sure if I just lay down for a few hours, I'll be right as rain," Alexia denied.

 **Get it? Right as RAIN? Anywho, hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you didn't, leave a polite review explaining what could be improved.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, thanks to any and all new followers, thanks for those of you that review or have reviewed. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I own none of the Marvel characters used in this story, only my OC's.**

 **Chapter 11 - Natasha Romanoff**

A day later, Alexia had fully recovered, not even a scratch showing evidence of the injury. As soon as she felt well enough, Lexy had returned to training. After a week of training, occasionally with the other Avengers but mostly on her own, her joints began to remember what fighting was like, what it had been like since she was 6 years old. She spoke to the Avengers and Paige often, but also spent time alone, enjoying the silence her floor received and taking great joy in watching her fish swim aimlessly around the larger tank. Alexia spent any time not training, eating, sleeping or taking short breaks in her lab, where she had improved greatly since her days Manhattan University of General Sciences. She had even experimented in mutation and attempted to create several new species of fish.

"Hey, Lexy! Tony, Clint, Bruce and I are heading out to get some pizza. You're welcome to join us," Steve invited as they finished up after a training match.

"No thanks, I'm not really hungry. Do you know where Natasha is?" Alexia asked. Steve frowned.

"I think she's on the 20th floor," he directed uncertainly, "No offense, Alexia but I don't think you're her favourite person right now."

"I know," Lexy grinned slyly, "I'm about to change that."

Steve shrugged and smiled before heading off with Tony and Clint. After he left, Lexy got changed into a neat sundress and jacket and went to Floor 20, where she saw Natasha sitting and reading a book. Carefully, Alexia walked over and sat down opposite her.

"Hi, Natasha," she greeted meekly.

The older woman's eyes flicked up at her and glared sharply before returning to her book.

"So, I thought we could grab lunch together, seeing as-"

"I'm not hungry," Romanoff was quick to reply.

"Ok, well maybe you might want to go shopping or-"

"I'm reading," Natasha hissed.

"What's your problem with me?" Alexia questioned confidently before recoiling at Natasha's precise movements.

"I don't have a problem," she denied simply, turning the page with a steady hand.

"Um yes you do. You barely speak to me and when you do you're not friendly," Lexy confronted.

"Maybe that's because I don't like you," Romanoff suggested.

"I don't think that's it, because I don't dislike you and I haven't wronged you in any way that I know of so you have no reason to," Alexia reasoned.

"Maybe I just don't like your personality," Natasha corrected.

Lexy frowned at this. No one disliked her just on principle. She didn't want to admit it out loud but her personality was pretty damn loveable most of the time.

" _I_ think you're just hiding something, and whatever it is you can share it with me," Alexia decided.

"I'm not hiding anything, not that you'd know if I were," Nat muttered.

"What about this? We fight it out. If I win, you tell me. If I lose, I promise I will leave you alone," Lexy offered.

Natasha thought about the idea, weighing up her options, before signing and agreeing. They quickly changed and met up on the training floor.

"Any weapons, it ends when someone is on the floor for more than 5 seconds," Natasha stated as she prepared.

Alexia nodded with determination and leaned back into a fighting stance.

"After three."

Natasha slowly counted and, immediately after 3, struck out, punching Alexia in the stomach. She flew back a bit and landed on her back, but Lexy was quick to stand up. She reached for her whip as Romanoff moved closer. She flicked it towards the woman and changed the direction at the last moment, drawing an enormous gash across Natasha's arm. She gasped in pain but continued to advance.

She dodged Lexy's strikes and grabbed the younger woman's shoulder, shoving her to the ground. Lexy squealed but rolled onto her front and pushed herself back to her feet. Natasha almost growled at her persistence, storming towards Alexia once again. Alexia noticed Romanoff's water bottle sitting at the side and smirked slightly. She raised her hand and clenched it into a fist. Simultaneously, the plastic burst and the water flew straight to Alexia, levitating around her. She pressed the light blue gem and the water spread into a thin shield around her.

Just in time, apparently, as Natasha reached for a pistol and aimed it at her leg. It was absorbed by the ever moving water around her and fell to the floor. Alexia then gathered up the shield and sent it in a bullet-sized pellet at Natasha's thigh. It hit it's mark perfectly and the redhead collapsed onto the ground. The entrance wound was dripping with water and blood and Lexy bit her lip, hoping the five seconds would pass quickly so she could help the female Avenger.

Sadly, Romanoff attempted to stand again and succeeded weakly. She limped towards Alexia at a surprising speed and Lexy, hesitant to injure her any more, let her. The woman clawed at her wrist, causing Alexia to almost scream in pain. In retaliation, Lexy kicked her in the stomach. Romanoff skidded across the room before bumping into the wall. Alexia gasped and ran over to help. It had been longer than 5 seconds when Lexy was able to wake the redhead. She was slightly disorientated for a few seconds before realizing who had helped her up and pushing her away.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean for it to go that far," Alexia apologized sincerely. Natasha glared before signing and looking down.

"It's fine. You won fair and square, I'll tell you," she replied.

Lexy smiled weakly and shook her head.

"I'd much rather make sure your leg is ok. You can tell me afterwards," she smiled innocently.

Romanoff couldn't help but grin faintly as the brunette helped her up and assisted her in the journey to the nearest first aid kit, which was attached to the wall near the elevator. They sat down on a bench and Lexy began to stitch up the wound.

"I'm not good at expressing how I feel, none of us are, really. I've been taught all of my life not to get close to people and to keep my feelings bottled up. Joining the Avengers made me have to break down some of those barriers and trust people," Natasha began.

Alexia was silent, listening intently while also focusing on her medical work. Nat decided to continue.

"When Fury introduced you, I was immediately against the idea. I'm already close to 5 other people and adding another one is just another weakness, something that could distract me from my work. You seemed really kind and positive when we met, so I was also afraid that joining the Avengers could ruin your personality," the woman explained, "I realized after hearing your story that you've been through a lot worse than joining a team of superheroes."

"I'm sorry," Alexia mumbled.

"You shouldn't be. I'm the one who was purposefully trying to push you out. I'm glad it didn't work," Nat smiled.

"Well maybe we can start over. Hi! I'm Alexia Brookes," Lexy greeted. Natasha grinned.

"Natasha Romanoff," she responded.

* * *

Alexia and Natasha had chatted for the rest of the day, much to the surprise of the other Avengers. However they kept the reason behind their newfound friendship a secret, merely giggling whenever one of the guys commented or asked. Later that day, Paige returned from a job Tony had sent her on, with a surprising smile on her face.

"Hey Lexy! You didn't tell me Dylan was still in Manhattan," she exclaimed.

"I didn't know he was," Alexia stated.

"Yeah, I just saw him in Times Square. I was going to go over and say hi but he was in an argument with someone," Paige explained.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know. He was on the phone," Paige mumbled.

"I wonder what they were arguing about. Dylan doesn't fight a lot," Lexy pondered.

"Anyway, how's practice going?" the assistant enquired.

"Good, but Tony's gone back to his playboy days after breaking up with Pepper. Hopefully it won't last long because-"

"Because you _like_ him," Paige sang.

" _Because_ we need to practice," Alexia finished, "As a group, not just individually."

"Sure. That's _one_ of the reasons," her friend teased.

"Paige, shut up," Lexy grumbled.

Paige raised her arms in defeat and sniggered as Stark himself, along with Steve and Natasha, strided in. The assistant greeted her boss by name before walking out, practically cackling to herself.

"What was that about?" Steve queried.

"I barely know myself," Alexia sighed, "Where were you guys?"

Tony smirked, Steve frowned and Nat groaned.

"Natasha and I spent the day talking to Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D about an organization we haven't heard of in years," Steve groaned.

"I think you can guess how I spent my afternoon," Tony chuckled.

"I'd rather not think about it actually. What did Fury want?"

"Everything we knew about a group called Familia de Superiores. It means the Family of the Upper in Latin. They're just a bunch of really rich and really big families that thought that money could get them anywhere. They tried to take over the country about 30 years ago and then again 5 years ago but they weren't much of a threat seeing as they had no idea what they were doing. They've been in hiding since we defeated them," Nat explained.

"They sound a lot less menacing than their name suggests," Alexia snorted.

"S.H.I.E.L.D is worried that they may have seen what went wrong last time and are making a new, better plan," Steve continued.

"Is anyone going to go into detail about how _I_ spent my evening?" Tony asked.

"I'm going to train, anyone want to come?" Alexia offered, ignoring Stark's comment.

All three of them agreed and they traveled to the training floor. After an hour or so of of practicing, the group was worn out and headed to their own floors for a good night's sleep.

 **Hope you enjoyed! Just wanted to say, if Familia de Superiores is wrong (I'm not amazing at Latin), can someone please review about it? If you didn't like the chapter, politely review as to why, if you did, please follow and favourite!**

 **The next chapter is goimg to be set in a different location. Be ready for some new OC's!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello, this chapter's written in a different setting. Hope you still enjoy! Thank you to any new or old followers and favoruites and a special thanks to reviewers! Also, this plot has a lot of Latin/Italian in it, as well as a few other cultures. I apologise if this offends anyone or if I get anything wrong. If I do, please review and I will change it.**

 **My translations:**

 ** _Dux_ \- leader**

 ** _Dux Prioris_ \- previous leader**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own any Marvel characters although I'm preety sure everyone in this chapter is mine.**

 **Chapter 12 - The Dux**

A group of men and women in long red robes and hoods strided through a series of dark stone corridors. At the end of one of them was a thick oak door, which opened into a hall surrounded on every side by rows of seats. Their was a throne fit for a king in the center, currently occupied by a man with thick dark brown hair and tanned skin.

As the group entered, he turned to them, sliding on a red and gold mask that looked distinctly similar to a Chinese dragon which showed off his wealth and power. He chuckled.

"Welcome friends, family, colleagues," he greeted formally, a hint of Italian in his speech.

"What did you want now, Strazio? You know how dangerous it is to meet up like this," one of the woman called out.

"Ah, Maria. You must learn to respect your elders," Strazio tutted.

"You are my cousin, Straz, not an elder," Maria muttered.

The group pulled back their hoods simultaneously, revealing half-masks of several different animals. Maria's was a simple red fox mask.

"Yes, but I am the Dux and you are not. Learn your place," Strazio snapped, becoming angry at his relative.

"Dux Sanguine," a man in a brown bear mask and a posh English accent spoke up, "I am sure that Maria was merely requesting to know your intentions."

"I am well aware, Mr Ainsworth," Strazio growled before coughing and continuing, "The project we started 23 years ago is finally coming to an end, with our experiments being put to their final tests. The... _Incident_ that occurred 16 years ago was an unfortunate problem, but luckily the escaped children said nothing to the media about their time here. Mr Kurosawa, what is there to report on the American government?"

"It has been hard to survey them due to our location, but I have deduced that many secret organizations and government projects have been formed since we began, including one by the name of S.H.I.E.L.D. It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division," a Japanese man with a light gold lion mask explained.

"Continue to watch them. Find out how much of a threat they are to us, should we carry out our plans soon," the Dux ordered.

Kurosawa nodded frantically and stepped back.

"Straz, are you not worried about the missing children? They would've grown by now but they would not have forgotten," Maria warned.

"If you must know, I have already located them. The water experiment is a marine biologist and the fire experiment is an architect," Strazio snarled in indignation.

"Oh? And why are we doing nothing about them?" Francis Ainsworth enquired.

"Because it is better to manipulate them later than kill them now. Plus, if they told anyone of their powers, those people would become suspicious of them," Strazio justified.

"So when do we attack?" a new, older voice with a thick Italian accent questioned.

The group turned to see a man with thinning grey hair and an ash-coloured owl mask covering the entirety of his face. The red-robed strangers were all silent until Strazio chuckled again.

"Nice seeing you out and about, Papa," he commented.

"Learn some manners, boy!" Antonio Sanguine shouted, waving a thin steel cane at the younger man.

"Dux Prioris Sanguine, it is honour to see you this day," a large man with a thick Russian accent and a tiger mask greeted.

"Thanks you, Kazimir," Sanguine calmed.

"Mr Dimitrova, there is no need for false formalities with my Father," Strazio chuckled.

Antonio growled under his breath but did not speak up.

"Dux, I hate to interrupt but what _is_ the plan?" a French girl wearing a pure white mouse mask.

"Elise Javier, where is your brother?" Kazimir Dimitrova scolded gently.

Elise's skin was pale and her figure seemed timid and weak. It was obvious, even with the mask, that she was ill.

"He... He is on his way, Monsieur, but he is working on a new project," the Javier girl responded weakly.

"Elise, you are not allowed to leave your home without him, you have both been told on more than one occasion," Strazio warned softly.

Everyone had a weak spot for the 18 year-old girl. Despite their constant arguing, the diverse group of billionaires had grown up together and were considerably close. Her brother cared for her most, though. Elliot was very overprotective of his sickly younger sister.

"I'm sorry, Dux," she mumbled.

"Dux! Explain the plan, man!" an Algerian man boomed, his face half-covered by a blue-grey elephant mask.

"Mr Basara, please calm down," Elise pleaded gently.

The man huffed and stepped back. The Dux opened his mouth to speak.

 **Hope you enjoyed! Again, if anything is wrong or uninentionally offensive, please warn me and I will edit this chapter. If you liked it, please follow and favoruite, if you didn't, politely explain why. Sorry it was so short.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi! Sorry I didn't upload yesterday, my fault. Forgot again... Anyway, than you to any new and all old followers and favouriters. A special thanks to those that review.**

 **Disclaimer: I own none of the Marvel characters in this story, only my own OC's.**

 **Chapter 13 - Familia de Superiores**

"Miss Brookes, I am sorry to awake you but there is an urgent meeting that the rest of the Avengers feel you must attend," Jarvis announced.

Alexia jerked out of sleep and searched blearily around the room for the source of such a disturbance. Gradually realizing it was Jarvis and not some heinous intruder, Lexy groaned and slumped back into the pillowy heaven that was her bed.

"Miss Brookes, I must insist," Jarvis reminded as he heard a soft and quick snores again.

"Jarvis! Why do you have to be such a killjoy?" Alexia barked as she threw back the golden silk comforter.

"As I said, I would not awake you if it were not dire that you attend this meetings," the computer reiterated.

"I guess," she sighed, "Sorry Jar."

"No offense taken," Jarvis replied shortly.

Lexy swept open her wardrobe door and was almost buried under an avalanche of clothes, shoes and accessories. Selecting a pair of ankle boots, black jeggings, a light grey top and a pale blue denim jacket, as well as yanking a brush through her hair a couple of times, Alexia deemed herself ready and hurried to the elevator.

"'Bout time, Brookes," Tony smirked.

"Blame Jarvis, Stark, he's the one who almost let me fall asleep again."

"Miss Brookes, I hope you will rethink you're decision to bring me into this as I have no desire to get involved," Jarvis requested.

"Brookes!" Fury yelled.

"My _name_ is Alexia!" Lexy almost screamed before noticing that it was the Director that had called her.

His unamused face, matched with the stifled laughter of the Avengers around him, made her face go red with embarassment. Fury's eyes narrowed.

"Moving on, we've got some information on the Familia de Superiores."

"You're not _still_ looking into _that,_ are you?" Steve frowned.

"Actually, we have something that the Avengers might find particularly interesting," Nick shot back.

"What is it?"

"There are rumours in the black market that the Familia de Superiores have been training what they describe as 'a new generation of supersoldiers'," he started.

"Big whoop. Bad guys say that whenever anyone even suggests that they're listening to them," Clint rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't done. There have also been reports that they wear animal masks. The Dux, which means 'leader' in Latin, wears the mask of a Chinese dragon, as they see it as the most powerful mythical creature in the world. The rest wear half-masks of real animals," Fury explained.

A sharp intake could be heard from Lexy and the Avengers lowered their eyes. Tony looked at the brunette and saw her eyes misting over with her brows furrowed with fury.

"When did you find this out?" she said, her voice waning on the verge between whimpering and staying strong.

"A few months ago. We suspected that it was linked to your past since we found out about the dragon mask but we didn't think that they knew about you or your life anymore," Fury justified.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lexy whispered.

"We didn't know for sure and this organization has been going on for half a century at least. They went into hiding 30 years ago so it's hard to get data on them now."

"You know what they have then?"

"We're well aware, Miss Brookes," the Director assured.

The room was silent before Alexia spoke up again.

"I have to tell Dylan," she decided.

"That's probably not such a great idea. Him and your 'parents' have been planning something since you last saw them," Fury warned.

Alexia ignored him and entered the elevator, the doors clamping shut behind her.

"Who wants to stop her?" Fury sighed.

"I'm pretty good at cheering her up," Tony piped up.

Bruce rolled his eyes and Steve grimaced. The genius billionaire playboy philanthropist merely smirked and followed the 28 year-old out of the building. He searched in his car for a while until he saw her a few streets away from the Avengers Tower on her phone. He blended in around her to hear.

"-But Paige said you were in Manhattan. You know what? It doesn't matter where you are anymore, just meet up with me in Battery Park, ok?" he heard the brunette say.

Lexy hung up and Stark quickly returned to his car, driving straight to said park. It took a while for both of the siblings to arrive, but when they did, he stormed over.

"Hey!" he shouted.

"Stark! What the hell?" Alexia screeched.

"Sorry, Brookes, but if it's this guy's word against Fury's, I'm picking the S.H.I.E.L.D Director," Tony snarled at the man in front of him.

Lexy had to admit, Dylan did look strange. His tan skin was skeletal and pale, his eyes sunken. Her brother wore a simple pair of jeans and an old T-shirt, a strange contrast from his usual expensive suits. His dark hair was wild and untamed, where it was normally neat and combed down.

"Uh, Alexia? What's going on?" he queried.

"You tell me, Dyl. What's going on with you?" she replied.

"N-nothing. I just... I've been focusing on the job at home lately and..." he lied weakly.

"Tony Stark," Tony introduced quickly, "Why don't you tell us about your work with your parents?"

Dylan's eyes widened.

"Lexy, I promise, it wasn't my intention to... We're doing the right thing! They... They promised," he stammered.

"Dyl, what did you do?" Alexia gasped, pulling away from her adoptive sibling.

"We're getting rid of the bad ones. All of them. Mutants, supersoldiers, so-called superheroes, the lot. Join _us._ Please, Lexy!" he begged.

"What? Why are you with them, Dylan? You're one of us!" Alexia cried, "The man in the Chinese dragon mask! We know who he is!"

"And how long do you think they've known? All of these people, they're lying to you. We can stop them and stop using our powers," Dylan persuaded lamely.

"I'm sorry, Dylan. I'm not going to kill my friends just because Joe and Karen decided that they are enemies."

"Alexia, please! They'll kill you, too!" Dylan screamed, tears falling down his face as he got worked up again.

"This isn't right," Lexy muttered before grabbing Tony's hand and pulling him away.

Dylan fell onto his knees and called out Alexia's name, but she didn't turn. She silently sobbed as she tugged on Stark's sleeve, leading him to his car.

"Hey, Lexy, are you ok?" Tony asked gently as they clambered into the sleek blue car.

Alexia stayed silent for a second, merely staring at her hands. He went to touch one but she flinched and pulled away. After breathing in deeply, the woman looked up with a watery smile.

"I'm fine. Can we go back to the Tower, please," she said quietly.

He furrowed his eyebrows but nodded anyway, revving the engine. It didn't take long to get there, but it seemed like years due to the uncomfortable silence that ensued. When they were finally parked outside the gargantuan building, Alexia attempted to get out, but Tony caught her upper arm.

"Lexy, I think we need to talk about what just happened," he started.

"Nothing just happened. He didn't meet me and you didn't hear anything," Alexia denied.

"So we're just not going to tell the rest of the Avengers?"

"They'll kill him or lock him away if they know."

"Because he's locking away and killing others! I know that he is the one person who's been through everything you have, but he's chosen his side. I'm glad you didn't go with him but we can't just ignore that he threatened us," Tony insisted.

"Fine. Tell them, just promise me that no one is going to kill him. He's not evil, just misguided. If you can capture Dylan, I can talk to him. He'll listen to me," Lexy reasoned.

"Deal," Tony agreed.

Alexia let out a long, painful sigh and stepped out. As Stark followed, he realized that she had no intention of seeing another living person that night, as she headed straight for the elevator that led to their rooms. He quickly traveled up the tower to where the Avengers were anxiously awaiting their return. Steve and Natasha stood up upon his entry.

"What happened?" Bruce enquired immediately.

 **Hope you enjoyed! Sorry if it felt a little rushed, I'm slightly preoccupied at the moment. Still, politely review and explain what I can improve on if you strongly disliked it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi, sorry! I know I said that I'd upload the next chapter on Sunday but I forgot that I am going on holiday. I didn't want to disappoint anyone though so I decided to upload it anyway. Thanks for any new reviews/favs/follows!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters in this story, only my OC's.**

 **Translations:**

 **Ma Soeur = my sister (French)**

 **Oui = yes (French)**

 **Bien = fine, alright, ok (French)  
**

 **Cugino = cousin (Italian)**

 **Dux = Leader (Italian)**

 **Chapter 14 - Finding Out More**

"Mr Stark, Director Fury has called for another meeting in half an hour," Jarvis alerted.

Tony was already awake. He had been for the most part of the night. The reason for this was simple, he had been working on something. Apparently, that something had to wait a little longer. Tony sighed.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes tops," he said, rummaging through his closet for more suitable meeting clothes.

"Should I awake Miss Brookes before it starts this time?" Jarvis enquired.

"Probably," Tony chuckled.

"Sir, SHIELD has found more information on the Familia de Superiores. Should I download the information from the SHIELD database?" Jarvis offered

"Wouldn't that be _stealin_ g, though, Jarv?" Tony gasped mockingly. Jarvis was silent and the man sighed, "No, let him tell us himself."

Ten minutes later, Tony, Natasha and Bruce were waiting patiently with Director Fury. He stayed motionless and impassive, watching the elevator with his good eye. They didn't have to stand in silence for much longer, however, as Lexy, Steve, Clint and Thor all came tumbling out of the metal box, chatting. Alexia seemed a little out of it, but still smiled at the sight of her teammates.

"Right. Glad you're all here, we have gathered information on members of the Familia de Superiores. Most of the original members are dead, but the families have lived on. The first is Russian. They were originally the mustle of the organization, the Alistatrovs. Their son was named Kazimir and was four when they disappeared, leaving their mansion empty," Nick explained.

"Isn't it kind of stereotypical that the Russians are the strong ones?" Clint raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me, I'm no writer," he shrugged, "The second is Japanese, the Kurosawa family. The youngest was 18 when he disappeared, his name was Akio. We have intel that he has connections around the world who are the eyes and ears for the group, seeing as they're in hiding. Then there's the Algerian Basara family. The 10 year-old, Karim, now about 40, has always been known for his intelligence. He hasn't got much tact, but his skill in mathematics and technology is unmatched. The Javier family, the French participants, have always been quite sneaky. We know that there are two of them currently within the organization, though we don't know anything about them," Fury continued.

"Great, so they could have any number of abilities and we could be going in blind," Tony muttered.

"All we know is that they are relatively young, they are brother and sister and they are not particularly involved in meetings or battles," the Director shrugged.

"Who else is there?" Lexy insisted.

"Francis Ainsworth, son of English Robert and Elizabeth Ainsworth, was in charge of the children with the abilities. After your escape, it seems the leader has favoured him less and less. He's rather excelled in the sciences, especially DNA modification."

"And who's the leader?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"There are two Italian families in the Familia de Superiores: the founders, the Sanguines, and their close relatives, the Albertelli's. We have no idea who in those families are still alive, as they are the most discreet and exclusive families. However, an estimated guess would be that the Sanguines are in charge with the Albertelli's being second-in-command," Fury finished, "We're still scowering the globe for more information. There could be many more for all we know."

"So how do we stop them? Do we know their location?" Alexia questioned.

"There are rumors that they own an island, but many people also say that they're living underground. We are trying to scan for both," Fury responded, "You can't do much now but I thought you'd want to stay in the loop," he suddenly looked at his watch and held his earpiece, which none except Natasha had noticed, "In the mean time, there's a bank heist downtown organized by the Serpent Squad."

"Let's go," Tony announced.

* * *

"Elise, what are you doing?" Elliot Javier called as he climbed into an underground bunker.

The pale and sickly girl glanced up and smiled weakly before letting her head hang again. Her long fingers held a sharp pencil and a notepad waited patiently before her.

"I am writing," she replied faintly.

"What are you writing about, ma soeur?" he asked more gently as he approached her, peering over her shoulder.

"I want to record everything that happens with the Familia. In case something happens. In case they betray us," the girl muttered.

"Elise, we are one of them, now. We are an accepted part of the Familia. They will not leave us behind," Elliot assured.

"How can you be so certain? Father betrayed us," Elise reminded bitterly.

"Oui, but he also betrayed the organization. They were affected as much as we were," Elliot countered softly.

"I will still write a diary," Elise decided.

"Bien, but nothing will happen," Elliot promised.

Elise ignored him and continued to wrote in French. Her occasional coughs and the slight shake of her hand proved that she was truly ill. Elliot worried often, but, despite her disease, the girl had a strong will. She did not trust the Familia De Superiores as she believed she knew their true souls.

* * *

"Maria!" Strazio Sanguine called into a room draped in red.

From behind a velvet curtain, the blonde woman stepped out. Her make up was perfect, with dark red lips and gracefully curled eyelashes.

"Yes, cugino?" she smirked.

"You have been very rebellious lately. I came to remind you who is in charge," he declared.

"Oh? And who is on charge, Straz? Honestly, I'm not sure, because _you_ definitely haven't been leading us lately," Maria countered, her strapless crimson dress billowing in the soft breeze drifting through a window.

"May I remind you who founded the Familia de Superiores? Was it the Albertelli's? No, it was the Sanguine's! Has a Albertelli ever been a Dux? No, it has always been the Sanguine's! Whether you like it or not, I am the Dux and you are nothing more than another member of the Familia," Strazio hissed.

"I bet the other members would disagree. Even the Dux Prioris doubts your ability to rule," Maria scoffed.

"Father does nothing of the sort. He is only testing me. You! You are a test, aren't you? He set you up to this!" Strazio accused angrily.

"Trust me, Strazio, no one told me to do anything. No one needs to test you for you to show your cruel nature," the woman laughed.

Her soft chuckles were cut short when a sharp thwack silenced the room. The billowing blood red curtains stopped their peaceful movement and the cream carpet welcomed their owner. Maria grunted and pushed herself into a sitting position, her dress smothering her legs. The blonde gently placed a hand on her stinging cheek and glowered up at the man, who's eyes portrayed remorse despite his expressionless face.

"What did that prove, Straz?" she spat, "Did you show your manliness, your strength? We are already set against you, there's nothing you can do."  
Strazio opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut when he realized his cousin could well be speaking the truth. He stormed out of the red-soaked room, leaving Maria alone on the floor.

* * *

"Lexy?" Tony called as he stepped out of the elevator onto her floor, "You did inform her I was visiting her, didn't you, Jarvis?"

"Yes sir, she is currently in her bedroom."

At that moment, Alexia came strolling in, glancing at the man to show her interest. She plopped onto the couch and invited him to on the seat opposite her with a pat of the hand. He sauntered across the room.

"Jarvis said you wanted to talk toe about something," the brunette prompted.

"I just wanted to make sure you are ok. I know it must be hard to have to talk about the people that have... Taken so much away from you and I thought you might want someone to talk to," Tony explained, "You act normal in front of everyone and I just want to make sure you're alright behind the scenes."

"Tony, do you know why I try to stay positive?" Lexy queried.

"I presumed it was just your personality," he admitted.

"I watched my parents get murdered, 14 children who could've easily been me died during my 8 years of imprisonment, I was brought up to hide the only thing I was useful for and I recently saw the dead body of my best friend be removed from her home after being killed by a monster from my past, who I thought I left behind long ago but apparently knows who I am now. I don't have much reason to be happy, in fact, I've cried myself to sleep countless nights because of the things I've witnessed," she recounted grimly.

"I'm sorry, Lexy, I-"

"I don't need an apology. I've seen a lot of potential lives be lost because of dark forces who work under the cover of shadows. I should be paranoid, macabre, twisted, any number of traumatized flaws, but I'm not. I try and stay happy, funny and friendly because I survived. Friends and family die around me and somehow, out of everyone, I've stayed alive. That's why I'm positive and act normally, because the people that are dead were killed so that I can live. I need to respect them by living my life to the fullest, as if they were living my life with me. Lately, it's been hard to be happy and positive. Erin had become a constant in my life and one of the only people I could trust. I feel like I disrespected her when I was unable to confide the biggest secret of my life before the man in the mask assassinated her. I try and be happy, though, because I know that that is what they would've wanted, their sacrifice not to be in vain," Alexia finished.

There was a silence between the two as Tony took in this information. He stared into her bright green eyes and saw the innocence that had, since her early youth, been tainted by fear, death and darkness. Examining her properly for the first time in months, Tony was reminded of Lexy's stunning beauty. He had been so preoccupied since Pepper's departure that he had not realized that what he wanted was blatantly obvious and sitting before him.

"Alexia, I know that the thing you really don't want is an apology, I'm sure you've heard more than enough of them recently, but I truly am sorry. I swear, we _will_ find the man in the dragon mask, as well as the rest of the Familia de Superiores and we will avenge the children they killed, as well as the children they brainwashed and for what they did to you and Dylan," he promised honestly.

Alexia breathed a sigh of relief at his acceptance and smiled properly. Her face brightened when she smiled, and emitted a happy and intoxicating glow. Tony couldn't help but reciprocate.

"Thanks, Tony. Sorry to drop that bomb on you," she snickered.

"No problem," he murmered, unable to tear his gaze away from her, now calm, face.

Before either of them could say another word, the elevator slid open once again to reveal Natasha. She marched in before noticing the two and smirked.

"Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to ask Lexy if she wanted to train," the redhead chortled.

Alexia blushed, only just becoming aware of their closeness. Almost falling off of the sofa in an attempt to create some distance, Tony chuckled.

"I was just leaving anyway," he said, raising his hands.

He drifted past the spy and disappeared from the room.

"I-it wasn't what you think," Alexia excused herself lamely. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Meanwhile, in lower Brooklyn, Paige was woleaving in and out of crowds in an attempt to finish a list of errands for Stark. Squashed by the sea of New Yorkers and tourists, the woman found herself shoved into a park entrance and accidentally bumped into a man in front of her.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed hurriedly before realizing who it was.

"Paige Seath?" he questioned.

"D-Dylan?" she gasped.

 **There you go! Hope you enjoyed! Please politely review and tell me what you liked/didn't like.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello! I'm back from my holiday in France. It was fun! As promised, here is the new chapter. For any and all new followers, favouriters and reviewers: thank you! By the way, sorry for some strong language at the end, I *ed it out but still.**

 **Disclaimer: I own no Marvel characters, heroes or otherwise, used in this story, only my OC's.**

 **Chapter 15 - A New York Street and a Coffee Shop**

"Lexy! 4 o'clock!" Natasha called.

Alexia turned just in time to dodge a ball of flying debris. Luckily, Thor caught it before it landed on a small crowd of innocent civilians.

"You've gotta be kidding me! We beat these guys, what, a week ago?" Tony shouted.

"What can they say? They always find a way to _slither_ back," Lexy giggled as she sent her whip flying at a woman donned in red.

"Not the time for jokes, Siren!" Captain America called as he defended himself against a large, green humanoid creature.

Alexia pouted but also smirked. The Serpent Squad didn't take long to take down the first time, and it had been the first battle during which she had officially been referred to as Siren, which made her feel warm inside. However, the second time seemed to be taking a little more effort.

"The Serpent Squad won't be so easy to conquer this time!" Sin hissed as she raced at Natasha.

"Whatever gets you to sleep at night," Clint chuckled as he landed a well-shot arrow in the villain's leg. She let out a weak cry.

"This would be a lot easier if we took it closer to the water," Lexy reminded.

"And give them a nice view of the sewers? Sorry, Siren, but probably not the best time to use your full potential," Tony denied as he brought down the Eel.

"We don't need to, anyway. They aren't _that_ much trouble," Natasha shrugged.

"Guys, they're _right there._ There's no need to be rude," Lexy tutted as she sent a small sphere of drain water at the Viper.

"Hey, they want to steal and assault people, they deserve a little ridicule," Tony retorted.

After a few more moments of playful mockery and strenuous fighting, the Serpent Squad sat in a heap in the middle of the street. Iron Man wiped imaginary dust from his hands and was about to walk away when the Captain grabbed his metal arm.

"New idea for you, genius. Why don't you tie the criminals up or hand them over to the police once you've had your fun?" Steve suggested.

"Save the mocking for the lawbreakers, Cap," the iron-clad superhero grumbled as he turned again.

"Don't worry, I got this one," Lexy grinned, "You guys go on ahead."

Her team members shrugged lightly and swivelled to return to their much-loved Tower. As they ambled off, Alexia separated her arms. Water came crawling from every nook and cranny, condensing from the cool, damp air and gushing from the drains and pipes that connected the gigantic city she stood amidst. Once the brunette was satisfied with the mass of liquid she had been provided with, she merged them, creating an enormous, levitating pool of dirty water. Using slow and precise movements, Alexia brought the pool down onto her enemies, who were immediately gathered up by it's density. She then let the water rise again, with the delinquents now within it, and let it hang in the air.

"Not doubting your abilities or anything, but are you sure you can handle that amount of water before the cops arrive?" Tony questioned.

"Saying that you aren't doubting my abilities before obviously doubting my abilities probably isn't the best form of tact," Lexy pointed out, "I only have to hold up the bottom layer of water, which carries the weight of the rest. Why are you here, anyway? Everyone else left."

The hero looked around, as if only just realizing that no archer, soldier, God, spy or scientist was waiting around anymore. He suddenly looked rather awkward, waiting amongst the wreckage of the battle for the one teammate who had yet to find their way to the Tower.

"Oh, well, I suppose I just didn't want you to feel left out," he stuttered.

"I remember stating, and I quote, 'Don't worry, I got this one, you guys go on ahead.' Now, I'm no master of the English language but I'm pretty sure that means I was offering you a break and felt fine with being 'left out,'"Lexy countered.

"I'm still not about to leave an innocent young woman alone in a half-destroyed road to play clean-up crew," Tony smirked.

"Fine, let's go," Alexia sighed indifferently.

The walk back to their home was quiet but not uncomfortable. Their costumes earned more than a couple of odd looks from passers by as they got further from the crime scene, but Lexy just smiled lightly and excused their outlandish clothing with, "Comic Convention", which seemed to be enough for most, though some female teens muttered excitedly at the Iron Man suit. By the time they reached the Avengers Tower, the two merely chuckled when they attracted a stare from a stranger and ran inside when people finally began to realize who Tony was. They made their way to the floor where the Avengers were lounging to find them out of costume and clad in casual attire. Natasha quirked an eyebrow at the two's laughter.

"What's so funny?" Bruce queried.

"Nothing," Lexy responded, giggles still evident in her voice.

"How's work going?" Tony asked.

"Well, I helped SHIELD with a way to find the Familia more easily. I won't go into it but I estimate it should take a few weeks, a month at most," Bruce replied, his answer silencing Alexia's happiness.

"What's the plan for when we do find them?" Steve questioned.

"I'm not sure yet, neither is Fury. Going in full force will catch them off guard but if their _soldiers_ are anywhere close, that plan might not end well."

"We could try picking them off one by one? We'll have to do it quickly or they'll notice but it'll be a lot easier," Clint suggested.

"Let's sleep on it," Tony said, "I have work to do."

And with that, he left the room, swiftly followed by Lexy, who muttered that she was retiring to her own room. It didn't take very long for the rest of the Avengers to disperse as well, leaving the room empty and cold.

* * *

Paige and Dylan sat in a coffee shop. The brunette had suggested it so that they could reconnect, but found it terribly awkward after they had ordered.

"So, how's the building coming along?" she asked.

"It's not," he muttered.

"What?"

"They... They dropped the project. Mine wasn't good enough and I had wasted too much time and too many resouces," he whispered.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Dyl. Does Lexy know?"

"No, we haven't been in touch lately," he chuckled, "Didn't you hear about what happened last time?" Paige looked bewildered, "No, I suppose if you knew, you wouldn't be here. You would've ran at the sight of me."

"Why would I do that? What did you do?" Paige questioned.

"We're planning something and Alexia has chosen the wrong side to be on," Dylan grumbled.

"Who's 'we'? What are you planning? Dylan, tell me!" she demanded helplessly.

"Have they done anything to you yet, Paige?" he asked abruptly, "I know she killed your cousin, but they haven't made you a freak yet, have they?"

"What kind of question is that? And don't you f****** dare accuse Lexy of killing Erin! None of it was her fault!" Paige shouted, not caring about the numerous strange looks she was acquiring.

"Can't you see what they are, Paige? They're monsters! Freaks! I'm one too, I admit, but at least I have the decency to hide it!" Dylan cackled manically, "But soon, I'll be the only one left and if I pretend it doesn't exist, there won't be _anyone_ left."

"You're a mad man! Get the f*** away from me," Paige all but screamed.

Dylan's sick grin faded as he glanced upon her shaking form. Whether it from fury or fear, he didn't want to find out the consequences of his most recent actions. He stumbled out of the shop and cloaked himself in the anonymity of the New York swarms. A tear escaped one of Paige's eyes as she stared around her at the bemused and disapproving patrons of the coffee shop. She ran out and snatched her phone.

"Paige?" a happy voice questioned.

"L-Lexy, can you tell me what's going on with Dylan, please?" said girl stammered as tears began to flow freely down her slightly tanned cheeks.

"What happened? Are you OK?" Alexia interrogated immediately.

"I-I'm fine. I just _really_ need t-to know what's going on."

"Come over, I'll explain everything," Lexy sighed.

 **Hope you enjoyed! If you didn't, politely tell me why not, if you did, follow and favourite!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi! Thanks to all new followers/favourites/reviews! Hope you enjoy the new chapter! By the way, I am _quite_ fan of Youtube and are subscribed to may Youtubers, including Pewdiepie. If any of you are the same, see if you can find the Pewds reference in this chapter. There's quite a lot of Italian in this chapter, sorry. Also, please tell me if any of it is wrong or incomplete.**

 **Translations:**

 ** _Figlio -_ son**

 _ **Padre -**_ **father**

 _ **Dux Prioris -**_ **former leader**

 _ **Dux -**_ **leader**

 _ **Ciao -**_ **hello**

 _ **La Volpe Rossa -**_ **the Red Fox**

 _ **Signorina -**_ **Miss**

 _ **Signor -**_ **Mr**

 _ **Per favore -**_ **please**

 ** _Sì_ \- yes**

 _ **Nipote**_ **\- niece**

 _ **Capisco**_ **\- I understand**

 _ **Grazie**_ **\- Thank you  
**

 ** _Sembra delizioso_ \- It looks delicious**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters used in this story, I only own the plot and my OC's.**

 **Chapter 16 - La Volpe Rossa**

The Avengers were confused as to why Paige and Alexia were sitting on a couch crying into each other's shoulder one minute and deviously plotting some kind of revenge plan the next, but it was undeniable that that was exactly what they were doing. Paige had arrived in a hurry with tears spilling from her hazel eyes and shaky breaths escaping from her thoat. Tony, as her boss, had been the first to offer sympathy, though the brunette was more interested in seeing Lexy than conversing with her employer.

The Siren had immediately come sprinting across the reception and flung her arms around Paige, who had quietly sobbed as Alexia tugged her into the elevator. Since then, the two had wept over the madness of Lexy's adoptive brother before becoming angry at her adoptive parents and spent half an hour thinking of ways to create 'justice'. Finally, Steve and Natasha entered the lounge uncertainly, only to be welcomed by the pair, who's tears were now dry and invisible, along with the tense atmosphere.

"Are you two alright?" Steve asked, sounding ever so slightly worried at their swiftly changing behavior.

"We're fine now. I explained the... Situation to Paige and now we're scheming," Lexy giggled.

"... Ok then. We were planning on going out to eat for dinner tonight, do either of you want to join?" Natasha offered.

"Sounds great!" Paige replied happily, a total transformation from her past behavior.

"What are we eating?" Lexy asked.

"There's a new Italian restaurant that opened up down the street. Want to try it out?"

* * *

"Dux Prioris! Where is my cousin?" Strazio shouted at the old man as he marched down an opaque, dim corridor.

"Show your elders some respect, figlio!" Antonio barked in response, "If you must know, Maria asked if she could scout in New York. She's undercover and looking to identify the missing children and any other adversaries that might oppose us."

"Why did you let her do that? I am supposed to watch her! She has been quite rebellious lately and needs to be controlled, not sent out alone to spy, padre!" the Dux exclaimed furiously.

"I trust her, even if you do not. Once I am dead, you can do what you like, but until that day you are below me and must follow _my_ orders," the Dux Prioris demanded.

"The Dux Prioris has no power over the Dux, only influence within lower ranks. Do not pretend I am unaware of the order of the Familia, padre. Now, send someone to retrieve her," Strazio ordered.

"Why don't we have a vote in the Hall? I certainly think it's a good idea for her to stay spying," Antonio suggested.

"You would risk her life and the stability of the Familia for a little information on the missing experiments that I have been watching for months?"

"If she is willing to share the information with everyone else instead of keeping everything secret, then sì. The Familia will not fall if she is captured and I trust Maria to know how to return," the Dux Prioris stated, now becoming calm.

Strazio's eyes were drownd in a deep, molten hatred. He opened his mouth to bark at the old man, but, realizing that his power over the people was waning. Antonio smirked and began to walk away.

"Let her be. You never know, she could well be a defining factor come our invasion," he chuckled.

* * *

"Ciao! Welcome to La Volpe Rossa," a woman with long golden hair greeted.

She wore a red pencil skirt that reached her knees, a plain white button-up blouse and a small green ribbon tied around her neck with a black apron clinging to her waist. Her hair was in a ponytail and she wore slightly high-heeled, black shoes.

"Hello, table for 8 please?" Natasha requested, smiling weakly as they all ambled in.

"Of course, Signorina. Right this way," the woman directed, "My name is Maria and I will be your waitress this evening."

As the Avengers all took their seat, Alexia glanced at the waitress, who was suddenly oggling at her strangely. None of the others seemed to notice it, and when Lexy's gaze returned to the spot where Maria had once stood, she saw that the woman had quickly retreated to the kitchens. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, our hero grabbed a menu.

"What are you having, Paige?" she questioned.

"I might have the pork and Parmesan ravioli, myself," Paige pondered as her eyes slid down the menu, "But I'm not sure. Everything looks and smells so good!"

It was true. As waiters rushed in and out of the kitchen with grace, their hands balancing trays of divine platters and gourmet meals, a mouth-watering scent had snuck into the air, making every customer's stomach yearn.

"I might have the meatballs," Lexy started started.

"The best meatballs are Swedish meatballs, trust me. Maybe you should wait to have those," Tony advised.

"I'm sure everything is delicious, though," Steve commented.

After a while of tough choices, the team plus Paige were sipping delicate glasses of expensive wine as they ordered.

"I'll have the porcini risotto, por favor," Clint ordered.

" _Per favore,"_ Maria corrected.

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Clint responded cluelessly, causing the blonde to giggle.

"Polpette di pollo, per favore," Tony decided.

After the others had ordered with requests such as lasagne and pizza, with more fancy, long winded names to boot, the team were happily nibbling on sliced baguettes with garlic butter. Little did they know that behind closed doors, a certain undercover spy was muttering into a phone.

"Sì, it is definitely her. That means the other must be close by. Dux Prioris, I beg you to let me capture her now," Maria whined.

"You will do no such thing, nipote, or you will not be welcomed back. Wait until you locate the other and learn all you can. Killing her now could be a fatal move if the other is still close, or if she has any powerful friends," Antonio commanded from the other end.

"Capisco, Dux Prioris," Maria sighed, dropping a small yet lethal knife back into her apron pocket.

"We will be in touch soon, Maria," he promised before the line went dead.

"-and then I replied, 'We have a Hulk,'" Tony retold, much to the laughter of Paige and Lexy.

"I am sorry to interrupt, Signor, but the food is ready," Maria smiled.

"Grazie, Signorina Maria," Bruce said, "Sembra delizioso."

At this, everyone looked at the scientist, surprised. Even Maria was a little taken aback.

"I travelled a lot," he justified.

The team shrugged and began to dig into their apatizing spread, occasionally groaning with delight at the perfection of the food. They also chatted in between bites.

"So, Lexy, how's the new trick coming along?" Natasha enquired.

"Not very well," Alexia sighed, "I'm having trouble concentrating."

"What is it?" Paige asked.

"Well, I thought that, if I was fighting a crowd of enemies, I could use my whip as well as having water duplicates of the weapon on either side, but I can't focus on the whip when I'm thinking about the water and vice versa. I don't know, maybe it was a bad idea."

"Shut up, you know it's an awesome idea. You just... Haven't perfected it yet," Natasha dismissed.

"You can say that again," Alexia snorted.

"I'm sure it'll work, you just need practice," Paige encouraged gently.

"Changing the subject, does that waitress seem slightly off to you?" Lexy queried.

"Maria? She seems sweeter than a bird," Steve commented.

"The Lady Maria does seem considerably polite, what causes such suspicions?" Thor furrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't know, she was staring at me strangely earlier. Maybe it was just my imagination," Alexia said quietly.

"Are you ok, Lexy?" Tony questioned, "You seem very thoughtful, which is obviously never a good thing."

This caused a grin to rise onto the brunette's face, and she waved off the comment. Paige giggled quietly, attracting a slightly confused look from Steve. The conversation continued lightly until they had finished their meals. When they had, Maria returned for dessert orders, to which the Avengers politely declined.

"Per favore, come back any time," she smiled as they walked out and onto the chilly street of Manhattan.

"We are _definitely_ going there again," Tony decided.

"The food was amazing," Paige agreed.

"Better than amazing, and the service was great," Steve added.

"Maria was pretty cool," Clint nodded.

"Ok, we get it," Natasha rolled her eyes playfully, "Best restaurant ever. Can we get back now?"

Bruce chuckled and the group headed back in the direction of the Tower. Paige grabbed Lexy's arm.

"Thanks for the meal, but I think I'm gonna head home now," she announced.

"You sure? You can stay at the Tower whenever you want, you know," Alexia reminded kindly.

"Yeah but I have an apartment that I rented when I first got to New York. I'll be fine," Paige nodded.

"Ok, stay safe!" Lexy called as the woman began to turn and walk down another street.

After her figure was lost behind the labyrinth of concrete walls, the brunette caught up with the others, her shoulder brushing against Tony's as she strolled, laughing as she went.

 **Hope you enjoyed! If you did, follow and favourite. If you didn't, politely tell me why not.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello hello! After my considerably and unfortunately long absence, I have returned! Hope you like the new chapter, the tension sure is rising. Thank you to any/all new followers, favourites and reviewers! I am not going to put any translations here because I have used most if not all of the Italian words already, however if you aren't sure on one, you can PM me or go on google translate (because that's where I found them, lol).**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters, only my OC's.**

 **Chapter 17 - Silent Infiltration**

To state that it was cold would be a tremendous understatement. New York was hosting a fierce battle between hail and rain and both pedestrians and cars alike were caught in the crossfire. Undeterred by the harsh weather, however, many still took the streets to perform everyday chores and activities. Much to their misfortune, the sky did not calm, even as the day stretched into the darker hours. For reasons he couldn't remember, Steve Rogers was trekking down the blustery roads that formed the enormous city. As he rebelled against the forceful wind that charged at his front, he bumped into a weaker form. He turned to apologize and suddenly found himself facing a familiar woman with golden locks and tanned skin.

"Maria?" he greeted uncertainly.

She glanced up at the sound of her name and a look of recognition spread across her chilled face. The blonde wore a beige trench coat and black heels. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Hello Signor," she replied.

"Please, call me Steve. Are you alright?" he questioned as his eyes flicked across her shivering figure.

"I am fine, it is just that my apartment is quite far from La Volpe Rossa and I do not own a car," she shrugged, although it could have easily been shivering.

"I live close by, if you want a place to rest out of the cold," he offered.

"Oh no, I could not possibly intrude like that. It is fine."

"I insist," Steve implored, his eyes innocent and kind.

Maria sighed and giggled ever so slightly.

"You are very persuasive, Steve. Bene, I will come," she agreed.

The two then began to fight the whistling wind and spiteful rain together. It wasn't long before they stood in front of the Avengers Tower. Maria had, at first, looked baffled when her companion came to a halt before the building. As he turned to face it, her eyes widened and her lips parted to produce an expression of pure wonder and awe. The man had chuckled and tugged at her hand. They had then traveled to one of the dens, where Maria's coat had been removed to reveal a simple yet seductive black dress, much to Steve's surprise. Draping herself over the warm and comfortable couch, Maria relaxed as if it were her own home.

"Grazie, Steve. It is very nice of you to invite me here. I have to ask, though, this is Avengers Tower, no?"

"So, does that mean that you and your friends from the restaurant... Are they?" she insinuated.

"Yep. Well, all apart from Paige. You might meet them again soon, if they are in a social mood," the superhero chuckled.

As if they had heard his comment, Natasha and Clint walked through the elevator, chatting good-naturedly. They stopped abruptly at the sight of an excited Maria and Steve and their smiles fell.

"Ciao, Signorina and Signor," the blonde greeted cheerfully.

"Maria? As in, Italian-waitress-we-met-last-week Maria?" Clint queried, to which the woman nodded her head.

"It is very nice to see you again, Steve invited me over because of the bad weather," she explained.

"Steve? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Natasha almost growled before yanking the man's hand and dragging him to the corner of the room.

Clint sat down next to the blonde as the two began to argue through fierce whispers.

"What the hell?" the redhead seethed.

"I'm sorry, what exactly am I doing wrong? It was cold, she was tired and shaking, I thought she might want to rest for a while before she continued on her way home," Cap shrugged.

"And in the process, I suppose it slipped your mind that you were inviting a stranger into the home of a billionaire who also has a lot of serious, confidential tech stored here? Let me guess, seeing as it has the name of the team on the side of the building, you had no choice but to tell her our identities," Natasha snarled.

"Calm down! Does she seem like the kind of woman to fake innocence just to sneak her way into a secure building when it's obvious that we would take her out were she to attack us? And how on Earth could she have planned our meeting? It was pure coincidence," Steve justified.

"You don't know that," Black Widow snapped, "We've met this girl _once._ She could be capable of anything."

Captain America shook his head in disbelief before walking past Natasha and returning to the couch where Clint and Maria were seated. The blonde beauty look up at the redhead and frowned slightly.

"If my presence displeases you, Signorina, I am more than willing to leave. I see I am no longer welcome," she sighed.

"Don't worry, Natasha was just a little shocked to see you," Steve lied nonchalantly.

Black Widow rolled her eyes furiously and stormed out, leaving the three to their polite conversation.

* * *

"Do you see this, Strazio?" Antonio boomed cheerily as he marched into the hall where the Dux was eating.

As Strazio, donned in his dragon mask, glared at the older man, he noticed the piece of paper he held. Ushering away the patient servant beside him, the Dux stood up and snatched it from his hand. The letter was written in Italian and the handwriting was fancy and long. It was obviously from his cousin.

"Maria has already located one of the missing children and befriended her allies, the famous American Avengers. Already she has gained their trust and infiltrated their home! What have you accomplished in this time? Lost even more favour within the members of the Familia? Face it, figlio, you are no longer worthy of the title Dux. Stand down and let your cugino take your place," the Dux Prioris demanded.

"Why so little faith, padre? Actually, I have been tending to a more urgent matter than sending a spy out to learn things I already know," Strazio spat, "Elise Javier has been even weaker than usual and Elliot worries, as we all do. She seems to be undergoing a transformation of some sort, or so describes her fratello. Excuse me for caring more about one of our own in a time of dire need."

"Elise has suffered these spouts of pain since her birth and her madre endured the agony before her. We need not be too anxious if they are occurring again," Antonio snorted, "Your care may bring forth loyalty from the Javier family, but it makes you look weak to the other families."

"Say what you wish. Nobody cares for the thoughts of a mad old man anymore. It was a mistake to send Maria away as well, as I will soon plant doubt in the others' minds about her betrayal. She was your only chance of a rebellion, but my traitorous cousin will never be welcomed back."

"Whatever you say, Straz. Just know that there will be an uprising and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

* * *

Over the course of the next few weeks, Maria slowly slunk her way into the warm and welcome folds of the Avengers. Natasha was still cold and Alexia felt unsure about the waitress but the others soon saw her as a friend due to her seemingly kind nature.

"I can't believe them," Natasha fumed as Lexy, Paige and herself sat in one of the numerous lounges of the Tower.

"She does seem quite nice," Paige reasoned. The woman had decided to stay neutral seeing as she wasn't even a member of the team.

"So did Ted Bundy before people found out he was a serial killer," the redhead grumbled.

"Natasha! I seriously doubt Maria is a killer," Lexy scolded.

"Well, what do we know about her? Does anyone even know her last name? Family? Past? Home? She has invaded our home and yet we don't know anything about her apart from a first name and an occupation," Black Widow pointed out irritably.

"Why don't we ask her then?" Paige suggested as the elevator slid open and Maria, Thor and Tony strolled in.

"Ciao Alexia, Paige, Natasha! Do you mind if we join you?" Maria started.

The redhead's lips thinned and her eyes narrowed, but with no sign of protest, Maria confidently lounged on one of the sofas, adjacent to her least enthusiastic new friend. Tony sat next to Alexia and Thor next to Paige.

"Natasha! Did you change your hair? It looks great!" the blonde grinned. The redhead had recently let her hair grow out a bit.

"Yeah, I do that sometimes," she muttered, "What about you, Maria? Is blonde your actual hair color or...?"

"Oh, sì. Where I used to live, before coming to New York, there weren't many resources to waste. No one in my familia or even community dyed their hair," Maria replied.

"And where was that? Your old community? In Italy?"

"The name is in Italian and is very long. You would not understand," she shrugged, unfazed by the question.

"What about your family? Why did they not follow you to New York?" Paige asked kindly.

"My family is very small. My madre is still alive but I have no siblings and my father is dead. We lived with some family friends after he died. They were very kind, but I wanted to make my own way in the world, so I entrusted my mother to them and came here," Maria continued.

"What's your family's last name?" Lexy queried.

This is when Maria became quiet. The spy was unsure on how much the team knew about the Familia de Superiores, and giving away her last name could be a fatal mistake. Natasha's triumphant smirk frustrated her beyond belief, but, determined to keep up her good-natured façade, Maria only smiled.

"My family name is Al-Allegra, Maria Allegra. Is there anything else you would like to know?" she said testily.

Natasha groaned and stormed out yet again.

"Lady Maria, I apologize on behalf of my friend. She is very distrustful," Thor sighed.

"Well, you didn't tell us much. Natasha has her reasons for being skeptical," Alexia pointed out.

For a split second, Lexy saw something in the blonde's eyes. A flare of irrational, boiling hatred that burned through her pupils and shot through the air at the Siren. At the same rate it had appeared, the glower was gone and Maria was laughing at one of Tony's never ending jokes. Alexia searched the faces of the remaining occupants of the room for a single trace that they had witnessed the passionate scowl. Fortunately, Paige's expression was one of shock and bewilderment, her mouth wide open and her eyebrows furrowed.

"So, Tony, are you still in a relationship with your assistant? I read it in the news a month or so ago. Maybe longer," Maria asked.

A glance was then surreptitiously traded between Lexy and the man. Stark laughed slightly and lowered his eyes.

"No, we broke it off quite a while ago. Are you sure that newspaper wasn't out of date?" he answered hesitantly.

"Hm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a touchy subject. I should not have intruded," Maria pouted.

"It's fine. It was never gonna work out anyway," he sighed, "It actually made things a lot clearer."

"Tony, you are very illusive sometimes," Maria giggled, much to the dislike of Alexia.

"Ok, it's getting late, maybe we should head to our rooms," Paige advised as she saw her friend was about to snap.

"It isn't _that_ late," Tony denied.

"Well, we have a meeting tomorrow, remember?" Lexy added.

"Do we? I do not remember a meeting being scheduled for tomorrow?" Thor declared, utterly bewildered.

"Yes! You do. It's on _Tony's_ schedule anyway. I checked this morning," Paige said exasperatedly.

"I shall leave, then," Maria announced, standing up suddenly, "Grazie, tonight was very lovely."

"I suppose we'll see you soon anyway," Tony grinned.

Maria giggled flirtatiously again, causing Lexy to make an almost silent gagging sound. As soon as the blonde had been ushered out, the light brunette decided to retire and swiftly strutted past the two men, Paige marching beside her. Once they arrived in Alexia's room, Paige turned.

"Ok, what the hell was that about?"

"I have no clue."

 **DUN DUN DUN... Well not really but still teeennssiiooon ~. If you enjoyed, consider following and favouriting the story. If not, politely review to tell me why not.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ok, new plan: I upload every Sunday OR Monday because I am obviously terrible at keeping a schedule. Sorry! Here is the new chapter anyway, sorry if it's a bit sappy or if the mood changes a little quickly.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of Marvel, I only own my OCs.**

 **Translations:**

 ** _Désolé -_ Sorry  
**

 _ **ça fait mal, faire cesser -**_ **it hurts, make it stop  
**

 _ **S'il vous plaît ne me laisse pas -**_ **P** **lease don't leave me  
**

 **Chapter 18 - Ask Her**

"Elise! Hold on," a Brazilian man yelled as the girl squirmed in his grip.

He gently lowered her onto a bed, where she continued to writhe in pain. Her skin was pale and beads of cool sweat ran down her scrunched up face.

"Désolé, Elise. I should have realized earlier," Elliot cried from behind the burly man.

"Elliot, ça fait mal, faire cesser!" she screamed.

The boy turned his head as tears of his own began to seep through. Elise's agony was killing him from the inside. He felt terrible for his twin, as he had for his mother.

"Elise, please let me help you," Dr Santoyo said calmly as he held the younger girl down.

"You can't!" she shrieked, "Just make it stop!"

"That's what he's trying to do," Elliot tried.

"No, make _it_ stop. Please," she sobbed.

"Elliot, ignore her, she's become delusional. We can help her, you just have to listen very closely," Dr Santoya assured.

"W-what do I have to do?"

"Your mother suffered the same illness but she never told anyone how it was caused. Go to your rooms and try and find something about the disease. Anything," he ordered.

"No, Elliot, don't leave!" Elise wailed, "S'il vous plaît ne me laisse pas!"

"I am sorry, Elise, I'm so sorry," her twin whispered as he backed out of the dim, tense room.

* * *

"Tony, we need to talk," Alexia declared suddenly as she marched into his lab.

"Yes, we do," he agreed, "Can I go first though?"

"Um, I'd actually prefer it a little more if I go first."

"Yeah but I get the feeling that you won't remember what you want to say because my thing is so surprising," Tony justified.

"All the more reason for me to go first," she grinned.

"Urgh fine, but you just lost all the momentum that I was gonna use for my thing," he begrudgingly said.

"I don't like Maria," the brunette started.

"What?! But everyone loves Maria, except maybe Romanoff, but she doesn't trust anyone."

"Everyone may love Maria but Maria sure doesn't like me. I know it sounds strange but she's been giving me odd looks every so often, and I know she's really nice to everyone but I feel like she's being a bit spiteful towards me," Lexy explained.

"Are you sure? Maria seems so kind and charismatic, I can't understand why she wouldn't like you. Maybe you're just... Jealous?" Tony suggested hesitantly. Alexia's face fell.

"What?"

"I mean you were the newest member of the group until Steve invited her over. Are you sure you're not just-"

"Tony, I'm not jealous! I wasn't envious of Paige when you accepted her, why would Maria be any different? And I can't believe that you think I would feel something like that! I've been nothing but nice to everyone and I've tried my hardest to fit in with you guys, but if you don't know me well enough to know that I would welcome her as a sister if I wasn't getting strange feelings about her, then I don't know why I'm here," Alexia yelled.

"Of course we know you, I was just thinking that..."

"You know what the worst part is? This team is supposed to be about trust, but if I come to you with something private and you laugh in my face, I guess you're not much of a teammate after all," Lexy finished, before swiveling and storming out of the futuristic room, passing Bruce and punching the keypad of the elevator.

"What did you do this time, Tony?" he sighed.

"I... A lot of things, I guess. I didn't mean to, though, I swear," the dark-haired man assured.

"Of course you didn't," Bruce snorted, "You _like_ her."

"W-what? N-no I don't, where did you get that idea from?" Tony scoffed.

"Practically everyone knows, Stark, except maybe Alexia herself," the Gamma scientist smiled. There was a second of silence before Tony groaned and plopped into the seat beside him.

"What am I supposed to do? Ever since Pepper and I... parted, I've felt so lost. I was just about to ask her out but now I'm more afraid than ever that she'll reject me," he complained.

"Iron Man? Afraid? Here's a plan, why don't you stop acting like an idiot and start being your usual winning self?"

"Maybe I should let her cool off first," Tony decided uncomfortably.

"That's never stopped you before, and you _have_ already done it twice," Bruce chuckled.

It took a moment, but gradually Tony began to nod his head, his brain and heart surging with new enthusiasm.

"See ya, Banner," he called as he raced to the elevator.

"Sir, Miss Brookes is on the street outside the building. You should hurry, as a taxi is likely to pick her up within the next-"

"Yeah, thanks Jarvis, first floor please," Tony interrupted impatiently.

"Of course, sir," Jarvis replied.

The ride down was slightly quicker than usual, something Tony was grateful towards his AI for. He dashed across the lobby, but the doorway was blocked by a petite blonde woman.

"Oh, ciao, Tony!" Maria greeted sweetly.

"Hi, Maria, did you see Alexia on your way in?" he asked hurriedly, causing the smile to be wiped from the Italian woman's face.

"No, I have not seen Alexia since yesterday, why? Are you looking for her?" she queried earnestly.

"Yeah, Jarvis said she... Only just left the building. Are yoysure you didn't spot her, maybe getting into a taxi or something?"

"I am sure, Tony! Why does it matter so much. I'm here," Maria batted her long lashes seductively.

"Yeah, sorry, gotta go."

"But-"

The woman was swiftly left alone, flustered and frustrated, as Tony rushed past her and onto the busy New York streets. His eyes darted around the new surroundings hungrily, searching for even a single remnant that proved Lexy's presence. Nothing. The man quickly pulled out his phone.

"Jarvis, do you know where she is?" he questioned immediately.

"I'm sorry, sir, but unless you want me to hack international satellites, I can't search all of New York for a single person," Jarvis stated dryly.

"Hack the satellites if you have to, I'll pay for them later, just find her!"

"It really isn't that easy, that action would take quite a few minutes. It would be easier to guess her location based on past movements. Where has Miss Brookes been lately? Has she spoken about a specific place?" the ingenius AI prompted.

"Um," Tony racked his brain carefully, "She talks a lot about this new aquarium that opened up, Something Fishy, I think."

"That name is an attempt at humour, correct?" Jarvis asked uncertainly.

"It sure is, J. Tell Happy to bring the car round."

It took a mere minute for the billionaire's trusty chauffeur and friend to stop in a slim black car on the road before him.

"Hop in, Mr Stark," he shouted.

Tony quickly pushed his way through the stream of bystanders and slid onto the smooth leather seats.

"Jarvis sent me directions to some aquarium with a strange name. Something really cheesy," Happy said.

"Something Fishy," Tony reminded.

"No, it was _cheesy-"_

"No the place is called Something Fishy, now step on it, Happy!"

On the way there, the billionaire got a text. Immediately checking his phone, he saw a message from Alexia. It read: _Ok, I don't know if I was overreacting or not but I decided storming off again was stupid. Where r u?_

"Dammit. Happy, turn the car around," he ordered, tapping the brightened screen a few more times before bringing it to his ear.

"Hi," came a steady reply.

"Hey, are you at the Tower still?"

"Well, I was in a taxi, but then I realized that I storm off too much and I _am_ angry at you but runnning away from my problems is not the right thing to do. Where are you?" she explained.

"Out looking for you! Lexy, you can't just... Fine, fine, I'm on my way back," Tony sighed exasperatedly.

"See you."

The call then ended. The rest of the journey back was silent, but a knowing smirk played at Happy's lips.

"What is it, Hogan?"

"You've never chased a girl around New York so much before. I'm happy for you, boss," he shrugged.

"Whatever. See you, Happy."

The chauffeur gave a small wave before driving off again. Tony continued his way into the Tower and into the elevator. Jarvis expertly lifted him to the right floor, where Lexy stood with an apologetic but also angry look, which was amusing as well as worrying.

"Sorry, but I'm still kind of annoyed," she declared, obviously not sure of her own feelings.

"Look, Lexy, I only thought you might be jealous because that's exactly what I would feel. I know that's dumb because you're way better than me in so many ways and I guess I spoke without thinking. I swear I didn't mean to laugh at you or hurt your feelings in any way, I just _really_ hate seeing you unhappy so please forgive me," Tony pleaded, regret evident across his expression. The frown that was plastered on the brunette's features slowly rised into a grin.

"Aw, Stark has a soft side, eh? I'm sorry too, I may have flown off the handle a bit. I'm just so afraid to lose you all because, well, my so-called 'family' never truly accepted me and what I can do and... I don't want to lose my new, _real_ family," Alexia smiled.

"You didn't fly off the handle. You had every right to be angry, it was a stupid thing to say," Tony assured.

"Hey, you never got to say your thing," she remembered suddenly.

"Oh, um... Maybe this isn't the best time anymore."

"No, c'mon. Tell me, it can't be that bad," she implored.

"I just... Well, I... I was planning to ask if you wanted to go out with me sometime," he offered sheepishly. Alexia gasped slightly before giggling uncontrollably.

"Yes," she nodded wildly, "Definitely."

"Really?"

"Yup, yeah, mmhm," Lexy agreed, "Can I make it any more obvious?"

Tony let out a breath of relief and a disbelieving laugh.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to say that," he chuckled.

 **And there we go. So, I hope you enjoyed! If you did, consider following. If you didn't, review to politely tell me why not. Also, there's a reference to this story in my other story, which is a Spidey x OC fanfic. Just wanted to say.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'M SORRY! I really didn't mean to take so long and it was really only because I was procrastinating and I had some important stuff that needed doing but ANYWAY... Here's the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed or reviewed despite the fact that I haven't updated in weeks and to anyone I have been PM-ing with, you seem like nice people!**

 **Also, the chapter title is a Community (TV show) reference, which is completely unrelated to the Marvel Universe but the phrase fits and I like both so why not?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters, only my OCs.**

 **Chapter 19: Getting Rid of the B**

Elliot scrambled around his room, hunting rapidly for any sign or evidence of the knowledge he needed. By the time he had finished, the floor was a mess of papers, clothes and torn carpet. He was in despair, Elise's screams still fresh in his mind. He rushed into her room next, but took more care than his own, cautiously checking shelves and returning everything he searched to its original place. Nothing.

Tears threatening to spill from his hazel orbs, the boy continued to their shared living quarters. He ripped apart furniture, scattered documents and shredded books in an hysterical attempt to find something, _anything,_ that could help his sister. Then he thought of something. When the two were younger, their parents had traveled to India in search of something. That's where they apparently died, but they had sent a number of letters beforehand, reporting their journey. Elliot had stuffed them into a box and hidden it somewhere when they died in the hopes that it would help them forget, but all that was forgotten now was the hiding place of the letters.  
Elliot dashed through the spacious home, hurriedly placing his mask over his face as he ran down the ominous halls that led to the inner sanctum of the Familia. He caught sight of the Dux and called out.

"Monsieur!" he yelled, skidding to a halt.

"Ah, Elliot, how is Elise? Is she any better?" he questioned calmly.

"No, I need your help, Dux. When my parents died, where did I put the letters they sent?"

"Wow, that was a long time ago, let me think," Strazio sighed, "It doesn't come to mind, why?"

"I-I think Elise is going to die," Elliot murmured, hopelessness evident in his words.

"Elliot, I know that _I_ cannot remember but I think we both know someone who can," he declared grimly.

* * *

"Wow, really?' Paige squealed with girlish delight, grinning brightly.

"You didn't have to be so difficult about it," Natasha snorted.

Alexia ignored Nat's comment and maintained a broad smile. Their reactions to the events of that day had been exactly what she had expected.

"We're going to Los Angeles," she informed them excitedly, "We're taking his private jet."

"Wow. I really need a rich boyfriend," Paige breathed heavily, almost in a daze.

"What are you doing in California? Nothing inappropriate, I hope," the redhead smirked.

"I don't actually know," Lexy giggled, a small blush playing at her cheeks, "Tony said it was a surprise."

"Well, whatever it is, it'll be better than what Clint has planned," Nat shrugged, "He wants to go on a 'trust exercise' style adventure with Maria and Steve."

"Urgh, I hate her so much. We should just form a coup," Paige suggested.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know we were usurping the American government," Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Got any better ideas, Widow?" she countered.

"I guess not, but let's not call it a coup."

"Are we actually doing this?" Alexia asked, bewildered by the sudden change in topic.

"Yup! I'll call Bruce and see if I can get something to Thor."

"I'll get Clint and Steve."

"I guess I'll call Tony," Lexy shrugged.

It didn't take long to gather the Avengers into one room. They all looked rather baffled and sent questioning looks at each other, which would only cause a shrug from the recipient. Finally, Natasha and Alexia stepped forward.

"Hi everyone!" Lexy started cheerfully, but was silenced by a look from Nat.

"We're here to talk about Maria."

"What about Maria?" Steve asked incredulously.

"We don't trust her," Lexy sighed.

"Why not? The Lady is truly a great friend," Thor tilted his head.

"Maybe she _seems_ nice, but she's been giving me these looks, full of hatred and... Something else," the brunette shrugged.

"Seeing as Alexia is our teammate and Maria is a stranger we plucked off of the street," the redhead shot a meaningful look at Steve as she spoke, "I don't think there's much of a dilemma in who we should choose."

"I do," Steve raised an eyebrow, "No offense Lexy, but there's no way that Maria could do that to someone."

"And how can you be so sure?" Paige inquired frustratedly, "We've known Maria for weeks, a month at most. You've known Lexy for much longer and you've been though more with her than you could ever go through with some waitress that we don't even know."

"I'm on Lexy's side," Tony decided confidently, causing snorts from the doubtful members of the team.

"I wonder why," Steve muttered.

"And I wonder why you favour Maria so much, Cap. Anything you want to share with the group?" Tony commented.

"Hey, let's keep things civilized, you two," Clint laughed nervously.

"If you like things so civilized, Barton, maybe you should use a weapon from this century," Steve smirked uncharacteristically.

"You won't be much help with that, will you, Rogers, seeing as you haven't been here very long," Clint shouted.

"This is so off-topic!" Alexia cried.

"Look, I don't care if anyone has doubts about Maria, I don't," Steve declared.

"Sorry, Cap, but if you like her, I think you should meet her outside the building, because we seem to be in agreement," Bruce said calmly, standing at Tony's side.

Slowly, Captain America looked into the eyes of each of his teammates. Thor was hesitant, but eventually glanced away as Steve implored him silently to join him. The rest merely stood their ground. Eventually, the soldier sighed.

"Fine, you won't find her in this building again. But you won't find me here very often either," he announced, before exiting the tense room.

"Well that was... Eye-opening," Natasha said.

"What's going on with _him?_ " Paige grumbled, continuously baffled by the drama that surrounded the team.

* * *

Maria's apartment was, in a single word, neat. The walls were a plain white and the beige carpet that spread across the area of the floor was clean. The amount of furniture was limited in every room, with only essentials and a few decorations lacing the otherwise empty space. The entire apartment was light and comfortable, but there was something unnerving about the fact that there wasn't a single family photo or souvenir of the woman's past. Steve sat on the couch, his back straight and his hand tightly clasped around a clean glass of wine. Maria had been in her room for several minutes. Steve was about to call when the Italian blonde walked out, wearing a silky red top and tight denim jeans. Her hair was curled and tied in a ponytail that twisted down her shoulder.

"Scusa, Steve. What was it you wanted to say?" she asked, gently relaxing into the space beside him.

"Um, first off, this wasn't my decision, in fact I was sorely against the idea, but," Steve stuttered, before sighing, "The Avengers don't think it's best for you to be at the Tower anymore."

Maria's seductive grin slowly fell and a furious scowl replaced it. She withdrew her hand from the narrow space that divided the two and clenched it into a fist on her lap.

"Why? What did I do wrong?" she questioned, struggling to stay calm.

"Nothing! Well, Alexia thought that... Thought that you didn't like her and Natasha didn't trust you so..."

"So it was Alexia's fault?"

"I guess. I wouldn't say she's at _fault._ I can understand why she wouldn't want a stranger randomly becoming our ally but you're not a stranger anymore and, I really-"

"Ho fatto un errore," Maria muttered spitefully.

"E-excuse me?"

Abruptly, the blonde thrust her hand forward and dug her sharp, painted nails into Steve's neck. He grasped her wrist and gasped an unsteady breath.

"You and your _stupid_ team!" she shrieked, "Everything would've gone perfectly. I could be _Dux!"_

Slowly, Steve's raspy breathing became faint. He looked up at Maria with unfocused eyes as she retreated her hand.

"Maria," he slurred hoarsely, "What did you do?"

"Oh mio Dio, calm down, it's just paralysis. I am not leaving mi Familia without protection and I cannot exactly carry a knife into the Avengers Tower. I saw this from an American movie, snake poison in the nail varnish. Except I used something of my own. It'll last a few days at most," she waved off his obvious concerns with a malicious laugh before grabbing her handbag and slamming the door behind her.

Steve sat rigidly, his jaw tight and his eyes glazed over. He was unable to speak and the only movements available to him were the flickers of his eyelids.

 **Steve is in _troooouuuubbllleee..._ Anyway, translations are down here seeing as the Italian comes in at the end.**

 **Scusa - sorry**

 **Ho fatto un errore - I made a mistake**

 **Oh mio Dio - Oh my God**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Leave me a polite review telling me what you think! Follow and favourite, we are soooo close to 100 followers!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm back! Seeing as I said everything a few minutes ago, I'll keep this short: love you guys for waiting and being polite in your reviews, thanks for reading so far, hope this story isn't declining in quality.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or its characters, only my OCs.**

 **Chapter 20 - The Start of a Date, the End of a Search and the Plot of a Villain**

The Avengers, minus their courageous Captain, sat silently around a table, picking at their lunch halfheartedly. None of them seemed particularly enthusiastic about the meal.

"Has anyone seen Steve today?" Lexy asked hopefully.

Each teammate shook their head, staring sadly into the toasted baguette that they had yet to finish.

"No one's seen him since yesterday," Natasha muttered.

"Well, has anyone tried to contact him?" Alexia tried.

"I called him this morning, but he didn't answer," Tony sighed, "I suppose I'm not his _favourite_ person right now."

"I can tell you who is," Clint muttered, causing harsh glares from Bruce and Natasha.

 _Steve had been laying motionless for hours on end. The little sleep he had been able to catch had been filled to the brim with nightmares and visions of Maria: betraying him, killing his friends, destroying his life. The soldier had been awoken by an energetic buzz and, with the little energy he could muster, the man could see his phone ringing on the coffee_ _table._ _The screen was lit with the accept and decline options, with a certain billionaire playboy's face and name centered above them. Steve felt sick. After what he had said to the team, it was a wonder that Tony had even tried to contact him. His own stupidity and naïve ideas of happiness had led him into this mess and he doubted that Maria needed any more than a few days to complete her mission._

Paige arrived once the plates had been cleared away, most of the food still present on them. The woman had been just as affected as her best friend about the argument with Steve, but she was determined to continue with her job as usual. Bruce, Thor, Natasha and Clint had left, leaving only Tony and Alexia to remain.

"Tony, your jet's ready to leave. Maybe it'll brighten the mood a bit?" Paige informed.

"He'll be back soon, he wouldn't just leave us like that," Tony decided, probably persuading himself more than anyone.

"Let's go," Alexia smiled, "We'll call tonight to see if he's come back."

"You two have fun! I'll keep track of things here."

And with that, the two set off in a cream-coloured car, driven by Happy, to the airport, leaving their team to await Steve's return.

* * *

"Dux Prioris!" Strazio bellowed as he spotted the elder talking to Mr Akio Kurosawa.

At the shout, Antonio turned and smirked at his son. Elliot stood uncomfortably at the Dux's side, seemingly determined to avoid the others' stares.

"Ah, Dux, I have some news that you may want to-"

"I apologize, Akio, but I must talk to my father urgently. I'm sure that your discovery can wait, but Elise cannot," Strazio interrupted.

"How could _I_ possibly help Elise? The poor girl will not survive, I am sorry, Elliot."

"But, Monsieur Sanguine, there is hope. My parents sent letters before they left and the cure to her illness may be within one of them! The only problem is that I cannot remember where the letters were put. If you have any idea, s'il vous plaît, help us," Elliot begged.

Mr Kurosawa's indignant scowl became a sympathetic frown. He left the hall, pulling off his mask as he went. Antonio sighed and squeezed his eyes shut.

"I honestly cannot remember where the letters were put. The only thing I can suggest is trying the Archives. Mr Ainsworth will lead you there and show you the records. I am sorry that I cannot do more, but it is the one place that the members of the Familia would think to hide such documents."

"Merci, Dux Prioris, merci beaucoup!" Elliot cried.

"I'm sorry, Elliot, but I must go now. Good luck, I hope you find what Elise needs," Strazio said sincerely.

"Thank you for your help, both of you! The Javier family is in your debt once again."

* * *

Maria was tired of being alone. All the blonde wanted to do was return home and usurp her spoilt cousin with the bravo she had maintained throughout her adulthood. However, returning without news of the Avengers' defeat would be shameful and the allies that Antonio Sanguine and herself had been able to gain would be lost. No. Maria was tired of being alone but she was not the kind of woman to leave a job half-finished.

The apartment that Captain America was currently 'residing' in was an obvious cover, but it had been her base of operations since the beginning. Sure, she owned La Volpe Rossa, but the employees that worked there were genuine and not a single one knew the truth. Now, without a home or a headquarters, Maria was forced onto the streets of New York with little but a disguised gun and a wad of cash in her purse.

"Miss, I'm sorry but you cannot wait in the lobby unless you are planning to rent a room," a scrawny young man in a Birch Hotel uniform declared weakly, speaking quietly so as not to disturb the other guests who relaxed within the small hall.

"How much does a room cost for a night?"

"The cheapest we offer is $75. I'm sorry, Miss, but you don't seem to have much on you."

Maria pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. He was obviously referring to the small purse she clutched and her day-old clothes. Flicking her ponytail as she stood up, the woman sighed.

"Fine, I'll take my leave."

The man nodded and shuffled out of the way as she marched to the entrance. Granted, picking the best looking hotel available to camp out in may not have been the best idea the Albertelli had produced, but it was better than spending the night in a dingy hostel like she had the night before. Out on the street again, the slightly ruffled woman began her search for _somewhere_ to plot. Not that she needed to do more than add the finishing touches. Eventually, a fast food restaurant promising 24 hour service was settled for by the snooty blonde. It may not have been a first class table, but the disgusting smell of sizzling fat and bubbling grease could be coped with. Maria flattened a scrunched up piece of paper that had be stuffed into her pocket earlier that day and grabbed a pen from her purse. She scribbled on the already messy page before smirking and sitting straight.

 **What's Maria planning this time? I know, can you guess? Hint: it gets pretty violent. Anywho, please leave a review. What did you like? What didn't you like? Were you peeved by my absence or did you barely notice?**

 **I actually need to go for another two weeks at least... Sorry! I'll update when I can, I promise!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello, faithful followers... Or people that forgot the story existed... Or people that are here for the first time... Anyway, very long chapter to make up for my absence! There are some twists and turns in this chapter...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel characters, I only own my OCs and the plot.**

 **Chapter 21 - Finding the Start of the Truth**

A sleek, flame-red convertible was racing along a palm tree-dotted Californian road at a carefree pace, causing the dense air to become wind that blew through the hair of the car's owner and his excited partner. The blue, cloudless sky was the only thing that was not a giddy blur to the woman as she squealed in delight at the rebellious speed that Tony Stark was driving at, all thoughts of the troubles of their New York home lost the moment their plane had landed. Tony grinned at Alexia's blissful expression as she leant back into the expensive seat the car provided.

It wasn't long before the slightly dusty, hot road led to a hill, where the withered appearance of the two's surroundings abruptly transformed into green grass and even more lazy palm trees. They sped up the slope where they were able to get a view of the array of houses and buildings before them: Malibu.

"Tony, not that I don't enjoy riding around the Californian countryside with you or anything but... Why didn't we just fly to an airport here if this was our destination in the first place?" Lexy giggled.

"I thought we'd take a bit of a detour, see the beauty of California, spend a little more time alone," he purred.

"I've been to California before, you know," the brunette laughed, "To visit Paige while she was working."

"Oh, well you could've said that before we left!" Tony huffed, "And to think I spent all that money on gas."

"Yeah because _you_ definitely can't afford gas," she snorted.

"Anyway, I suppose we'll have to move on to the next item on our agenda."

"Which is?"

Iron Man grinned knowingly and flicked his eyes between the woman and the road, which he was now accelerating down.

"Tony, what are you planning?" Alexia narrowed her eyes.

Again, the man merely smirked, but his head jerked in the direction opposite to where she was sitting. Leaning forward to see past his strapping figure. Her eyes widened and her curious smile grew to a full-on beam, yet she was still unsure.

"Are we... Is this...?"

"You haven't been to Malibu before, though, have you?" he asked playfully, causing a quick shake of the head from his date, "Well if there's one thing that I assure you you will like, it's the beach."

Lexy's eyes brightened with anticipation and her eyes quickly returned to the clear water and white shores of the beach that stretched along beside the road that they had just joined, which was busier than the last. Tony laughed as she yet again let out a high-pitched squeak.

"Really? Oh my gosh, I haven't been to the beach in soooo long! New York's lakes are _nothing_ compared to the ocean!"

"There's a great café around too, it sells great seafo-"

He was silenced by a sudden glare from Alexia. The furious gaze lasted less than a second before her stare retreated to the serene crashing of light blue waves, however it was enough to make Tony rethink his proposal and quickly amend the sentence that was still hanging in the slightly more tense air.

"I mean... Uh... Well, there's a restaurant that sells great pizza, yeah, that's... Slightly more appropriate."

The offended frown quickly broke and the happy upwards curve of her lips had remained, if dampened somewhat. They continues to drive for a little while before Tony parked outside a modern mansion hanging off the edge of a cliff. Alexia recognized it immediately as the famous 10880 Malibu Point where Stark had spent most of his time before, and a bit after, the great Battle of New York.

"Woah," she breathed almost inaudibly as her lips parted, creating a look of awe to mask her face.

"I suppose you'll be needing a swimsuit? Pep- my old assistant might have left some clothes upstairs. Jarvis will show you the way," Tony informed, ignoring, or possibly unaware of her wonder.

Blindly following her date through the doors of the enormous house, Alexia was knocked out of her daydream by a familiar voice.

"Welcome back, sir, and it is nice to see you again, Miss Brookes," greeted Jarvis politely.

"Hey, Jarv," Lexy grinned, "Does it really count as 'seeing' when you talk to me, though?"

"When you enter a room that Mr Stark has placed me in control of, I am able to detect that it is you through a harmless scan that matches DNA and appearance with the profile I have stored in my database. I may not have eyes, Miss Brookes, but I see just as much, if not more, than many human beings."

There was a silent moment as Tony chuckled and headed down a flight of stairs and Alexia looked a mix of surprise and amusement.

"Well, 'Mr Stark' definitely did a good job when he programmed your personality, Jarvis. I swear, sometimes people like you more than him," she joked.

"I would not recommend letting Mr Stark hear that, he is particularly annoyed at the thought of someone being more popular than himself," Jarvis continued, his voice containing traces of mirth, "Now, shall I show you to Miss Potts' old room, Miss Brookes? If you'll follow the staircase upwards, you'll find a corridor of similarly designed doors..."

Lexy followed Jarvis' clear instructions to a room that was painted in cool yet bright colors. The walls were a plain, light cream and the floor, though smothered slightly by a white fur rug, was made up of planks of dark wood. It was obvious that someone had once lived here, as the slightly opened wardrobe still hosted some forgotten clothing and a small photograph sat on the end table beside a golden colored bed, but it was also plain to see that the person had moved out as the room was minimalistic in personal possessions and the atmosphere was almost hollow, as if the warmth that had once spread throughout the room had turned slightly cold towards the end.

"Jarvis, who did you say owned this room?"

"Miss Virginia 'Pepper' Potts used this room in case there was a reason in which she needed to stay over. This happened increasingly throughout her relationship with Mr Stark but she vacated the room after they broke up," Jarvis recited.

Alexia let out a small humph and began to rummage through drawers carelessly. She couldn't help being slightly jealous of 'Pepper Potts', who had been so close to Tony in one way or another as to gain her own private room in his house. She had heard of Pepper from Paige, as they were distant friends, but they had never met in person and the woman seemed nothing but foolish in Lexy's mind. She had, of course, broken up with Tony for reasons that the brunette couldn't imagine, or maybe she was just too blind to see them. Finally grabbing a plain black bikini that would blend well with Alexia's light brown hair and creamy skin, the woman set off again, descending the stairs.

"Where's Tony, Jarvis?"

"He is currently in his workshop, assuring that nothing has been touched since his last visit."

"Am I... Am I allowed to go down there?" Lexy asked hesitantly.

"There is an electric lock on the door below, so one would know if they are welcomed by Mr Stark if he unlocks it for them."

* * *

The remaining Avengers, plus Paige, were two things: restless and guilty. Though these feelings might have been relatively harmless when owned by a normal set of people, there was no telling what they might cause when sitting in the minds of Avengers.

"We have to look for him," Natasha decided, unusually rash for a trained spy and calculating secret agent.

"Nat, he hasn't been gone a full day yet, I don't think we should jump to any conclusions," Paige said.

"I have a bad feeling about this, I don't like that he went to meet Maria and I especially don't trust that he hasn't been in contact since."

"Well, the two kinda fit together pretty well," Clint snorted, "I mean, _I_ wouldn't be in contact with friends I had just argued with when there was a beautiful woman wanting to get to know me better."

"And that's why you can't hold down any friends apart from the team you were assigned to," Natasha snapped disapprovingly.

"Here's a plan," Bruce spoke up, finally entering the conversation instead of hiding behind his laptop's glowing screen, "Why don't you two go and see if you can talk to Steve, or at least locate his whereabouts, while Paige and I wait here in case he decides to return."

"Also because we have work to do," the woman added lightly, folding her arms in agreement.

"Fine," Natasha agreed stiffly, "If Thor comes back, he can look too."

"Noted," Bruce muttered as he returned to his laptop.

With that, Natasha and Clint left the building, Bruce retreated to his lab and Paige decided to explore the Tower a little more, seeing as there were countless floors and she seemed to have a little more time than she previously expected. It had turned out that the only work that needed doing was a business call with another company that was not scheduled until much later that night. As Romanoff and Barton stood on the front steps of the building, they turned to each other.

"Alright, where to first?" Clint queried.

"I'd say let's go to Maria's apartment first but she never told anyone except Steve where that was," the spy responded, more to herself than to her partner, "But there is one place that might know where he is, and where Maria is if we're lucky."

"SHIELD?" he grinned.

"Where else?"

The two speedily navigated their way to where the Helicarrier was landed and boarded with ease, immediately bombarded with greetings from agents who dotted the deck. They continued through the small and widespread crowd and navigated their way to Fury.

"What are you two doing here?" he grumbled, still facing the hall of computers and agents before him.

"Rogers left last night after an... Argument. We haven't heard anything from him," Natasha reported.

"And you thought that you could just waltz in here and use SHIELD's resources to find him?" Fury questioned.

"Well, when you say it like that..." Clint grinned, but the glare that the Director shot from his one eye silenced his snigger.

"If he left last night, he's not even been gone twenty four hours. Maybe he just wanted some alone time without the rest of the dream team," the man suggested.

"Sir, I have a bad feeling about this," Natasha announced.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Agent Romanoff. If you'd said that in the _first_ place-"

"Please, Director, just do us a favour," Clint begged.

"Fine, but you owe me," he decided, "What d'you wanna know?"

"Where Steve is, what he's doing and who with."

"Why didn't you ask your pal Stark to do all of this stuff?" Fury grumbled as he tapped rapidly on the keyboard before him.

"He's in California with Alexia," smirked Natasha as Clint chuckled.

"No more problems with her, then? Man, you guys must really like her. Think about all that had to happen for you to start getting along originally," the Director muttered.

They watched as he worked, faster than anyone would have expected from the eyepatched, heavily clothed man who was known more for action than tech skills. Finally, he turned back to them.

"Yeah, Steve hasn't been seen anywhere, by anyone. The last time he was seen was when he left the Tower. He hasn't been anywhere public since. I wouldn't worry, though, he probably just wanted to be alone for a while anyway," he informed them before adding under his breath, "God knows I would if I was stuck with the rest of you for so long."

Natasha snapped her head away from Fury to hide her concern and her eyes searched helplessly as she thought. As they skimmed what seemed to be a board of clues about the Family de Superiores, they suddenly caught sight of a portrait. On it was painted a pretty young woman with wavy blonde hair and seductive blue eyes, her tanned skin formed by careful, smooth brushes that cut off as it reached a burgundy dress.

"Why is there a picture of Maria attached to that wall?" she questioned cautiously.

"Who? Oh, her. That's the only record of the Albertelli family we can find. Lady Sabella Albertelli, alive about a century ago," Fury answered absentmindedly.

"But that's..." Clint spluttered in disbelief, "That's Maria Allegra..."

 _"My family name is Al-Allegra, Maria Allegra."_

"No way," Clint breathed, "She... Alexia was right..."

"I'm sorry, I feel like I'm meeting something crucial here," Fury said.

"I think... We found a member of the Familia de Superiores, sir."

* * *

It's strange how coincidences happen, sometimes. As Natasha spoke, there were four intruders simultaneously breaking into the Avengers Tower. Three of them were dressed similarly: dark trousers, black shirts and matching balaclavas. The other was dressed in a clean, white summer dress that had been sent by her uncle, her golden hair tied in a simple bun. As the three scaled the building and slipped silently into one of its many floors, the blonde merely sauntered through the front door and to the reception desk. As the masked intruders entered the elevator and heard Jarvis' polite voice asking who they were, the lightly dressed woman was stopped by a nervous-looking security guard.

"Oh, um, Miss Allegra. I suppose no one has had the opportunity to tell you but... Well, you have been banned from the Tower," he stammered.

"Oh no, I am well aware of your orders. However," she laughed lightly as she opened the floral purse that hung from her shoulder and retrieved a syringe filled with light green liquid, "I have chosen to ignore them."

At this, she violently stuck the needle into the man's arm, causing him to yell before whimpering. The reception was relatively empty, but more uniformed guards ran out as their comrade slid to the floor. Maria snarled and removed a pistol next. Each shot was as quick and easy as the former and, unlike Natasha, who usually shot to incapacitate instead of kill these days, she aimed for the chests and heads. Meanwhile, the three darkly dressed strangers were having some trouble with the AI.

"If you do not identify yourselves and your reasons for being here, I shall have to contact Mr Stark immediately, and he will not be pleased if I interrupt his day off," Jarvis warned.

"Dylan, quickly," the woman hissed.

At her words, one of the others pulled a small, metallic slate out of their backpack. Forcefully crashing it into the wall, the stranger slid a finger along its side and its screen rose from above.

"If you do not identify yourselves and your reasons for being here, I shall have to contact Mr Stark," Jarvis repeated, though the last word was slurred and there was a loud beep.

For a moment, there was silence. The device's screen lit up with the message 'J.A.R.V.I.S Artificial Intelligence hacked and muted'. The woman decided to take this chance to press on the elevator button and it began to slowly ascend. Eventually, it stopped and the doors opened to reveal two figures, one lazily browsing his tablet as the other furiously shouted into the other end of her phone.

Of course, the one thing that Maria really didn't need was an interruption. After wounding, maiming, killing or forcing the guards into submission, it was just her luck that the elevator wasn't working.

* * *

Elliot had raced to the Archives only to find Francis Ainsworth bored out of his mind and balancing on his mahogony chair whilst he scanned through a leather-bound book. He glanced up at the heaving boy and raised an eyebrow.

"Need something, Elliot? Something, I hope, that will pardon me of this slow and torturous punishment for more than a few minutes?"

"Monsieur, I need to find the last letters of my parents from 5 years ago. It is urgent," Elliot panted and watched with mild disdain as Francis' face lit up.

"That should be a challenge. You know, stuck in this same job for twelve years for one incident that wasn't even my fault is a dreary life, but every now and then I can use it to save the lives of my Familia. Well, maybe just this once, but I still think I should be rewarded after," he hinted, "I remember when your poor mother and traitorous father left. India was such a strange location but no-one could get it out of the Dux or any of you Javiers why they were going. Apparently it was so that your father could leave your mother to die there and get himself killed after spilling our secrets."

"Hurry, Monsieur Ainsworth, we don't have much time."

"Not to worry, Elliot, I was there when you needed to hide those letters and I remember where I stored them for you."

They turned down the twisting corridors formed by piles of books and documents, finally reaching a dusty, silver desk that seemed oddly out of place due to it's expensive if not aged appearance. Francis opened it with care and pulled out a pack of yellowed paper, held together in a stack by a withering piece of string that was tied in a neat bow above the first letter.

"Maybe, seeing as I helped you with this, you could put in a good word for me with the Dux? I only ask because I am under the impression that he doesn't forgive me for my... Mistake. I want to move onto bigger things, more important than this overgrown library."

"Merci, Monsieur, whatever you need. I must go now, but I assure you that it will be done."

With that, the eighteen year old dashed to his room and ripped the later letters from their envelopes to reveal neat handwriting, all written in French.

 ** _Dear Elliot and Elise,_**

 ** _We are so sorry that we have yet to return. I know that you must be worried since we extended our stay and we miss you very much, but we have to do this. You will not understand if I explain it to you now but this is for your good as well as our own. Especially you, Elise. We promise to be back soon, but it is imperative that we stay until we have retrieved what we need._**

 ** _Missing you,_**

 ** _Papa_**

Rendering the letter useless by scrunching it up and throwing it across the room, Elliot read on to the next letter, desperate to save his sister.

 ** _Dear Elliot and Elise,_**

 ** _Your mother has suggested that maybe I should explain a little bit more, seeing as we have so far left you in the dark about our plans. There is a company named Stark Industries that has discovered a rare plant here in India. They are trying to use its properties to create a cure for many different diseases and we have been told by inside sources that it may heal your mother._**

 ** _Unfortunately, they have not allowed us to take any of the plants and we are being forced to steal some of their supply. It is dangerous, but if we can acquire it, your mother and you, Elise, will never be ill again. I know that this may sound bad to you, stealing is a sin after all, but you must understand that sometimes we must do terrible things to protect our family and, though the acts should never be repeated, the bad leads to good in the end._**

 ** _We hope to see you sooner than you expect. Tell Doctor Santoyo that Madame Javier misses his herbal remedies and that she does not trust Indian medicine nearly as much._**

 ** _Missing you,_**

 ** _Papa_**

Elliot growled in frustration. He had learnt next to nothing. Stark Industries meant nothing to him and as far as he was concerned, some rare Indian plant wouldn't help them unless it turned out to be growing in their inside garden, which he knew it wasn't seeing as Dr Santoyo was in charge of the garden in his spare time and knew the name, origins and characteristics of every plant that grew there.

There was only one letter left. After their father's spectacular betrayal, explaining every single detail of the Familia's plan that was so close to perfection, Elliot had reread the letter more times than he could count before hiding them away forever. His father's writing had become scribbling and messy, a violent contrast from his usual elegant hand.

 ** _Dear Elliot and Elise,_**

 ** _I am so dreadfully sorry for what I have done. You have to understand that I didn't want to do it but I had no choice. They will not come for the base, I have kept that much sacred, but the plans have been ruined. Tell the rest of the Familia to stay inside. They should not go anywhere or try anything risky._**

 ** _Your mother is dead. She died last night, not long after I told them everything. She was too weak to argue with me, or with them. They are letting me send one letter. They don't know how I will get it to you, the fools. I'm sorry, Elliot, that I could not return her home to you. I am sorry, Elise, that you might suffer the same fate. I did all I could, more than I should have. I am not a member of the Familia any longer._**

 ** _You won't be seeing me again, I will make sure of that, but know that in my last moments, I think of when our family was whole._**

 ** _Missing you more than ever,_**

 ** _Papa_**

Elliot had always been disgusted by his father's actions. He had betrayed the one thing that the boy had grown up to trust and, whatever his reasons, the man had cost his children their livelihoods. As much as they had basked in the love of their own parents, Elliot and Elise took an equal amount of pleasure from the affection of the rest of the Familia.

There had been a sickening second, when Elliot had shown the Dux the letter at a hastily called assembly, when a wave of doubt flooded every member's mind. They had turned to the twins with looks of accusation and fury, which only caused the fire in Elliot's mind to grow fiercer. Of course his father had taken such a course of action with no thought of his children's well-being. They could have been thrown out or killed by the Familia.

In fact, it was probably only due to the Dux's calm trust in the two that no action was taken against them. Perhaps the death of their parents had tied the twins closer to the Familia than ever before, or perhaps it was only the bond between themselves and the Dux that had grown stronger but Elliot was sure that he would not be safer than he was with his leader. However, he would not be sure of anything without his intelligent and strong-willed sister at his side.

No, the letters held no clues of how to save Elise, only broken words and false hopes. There were only two things that could possibly prolong the girl's life: an unnamed, precious, privately owned plant from India or the company it was owned by, Stark Industries.

 **Dun dun DUUUUUHHH! Anywho, hope you enoyed, review and tell me what you thought, follow and favourite if you liked. The next chapter might take a little while, I'm not entirely sure. I seriously doubt that it will be as long as this one. Sorry to anyone reading my Spiderman fanfic because I won't be updating for a while.**

 **In other news, I like Harry Potter and I like writing. I am, therefore writing a Harry Potter fanfiction because why not. However, I haven't uploaded it yet because I am planning for it to be very long and I am only about a quarter of the way through it. I might upload it when it is finished, but if anyone wants it sooner, just review and ask! If you don't want it, I won't bother you about it again.**

 **X**


	22. Chapter 22

**Boom! How about THEM apples? Ok, so the reason this took so long is because... Well, you'll find out when you start scrolling, my dear reader. Yeah, it's really long. I'm quite proud. Oh no, wait, the last one was really long as well, so I'm not making up for anything. Darn. Well, sorry for not updating, been kinda busy lately, not that this isn't important but... School.**

 **Also, forgot to mention last time but we made it to 100 followers! Yay me, yay you, yay , yay, yay, yay! Yes, as you can see, I am very happy. Anyway, enjoy...  
**

 **Translations:**

 _ **Je me sens douleur**_ **\- I feel pain (French)  
**

 _ **Gomen'nasai -**_ **Sorry (Japanese)  
**

 _ **-san -**_ **Mr, Mrs or Miss (Japanese)**

 _ **D**_ _ **ésol**_ _ **é**_ **\- Sorry (French)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or its characters, but I do own my OCs, so that's something.**

 **Chapter 22 - Some Plans and Some Surprises**

Dr Santoya was tired. He had spent nearly all night with the pale and weak girl and she showed no improvement. Elliot returned, looking almost as sick as his sister, who had begun babbling manically due to the pain.

"She is becoming delirious," the doctor explained at Elliot's alarmed expression, "She cannot hear you. Tomorrow, she will drift in and out of consciousness. She won't survive the next few days unless you find her a cure. There is nothing here that can save her."

"Alright," the boy ran a hand through his hair.

For a moment, he spoke rapid French, discussing something privately with himself as Elise began to repeat "Je me sens douleur" over while laughing.

"Doctor, I think I must go somewhere," Elliot announced, his voice shaking slightly.

"Elliot, please don't follow your parents' path. Learn from their mistakes, stay here!"

"No, they made a mistake, but it was not leaving the Familia. I am going somewhere different this time."

"Elliot, I don't think-"

"I know what I am doing, Dr Santoya, this time, I will not let her die," Elliot finished firmly as, with one last sorrowful glance at his sister, he stormed out of the room.

* * *

"Bruce?" Paige murmured, opening her eyes slightly.

Her wrists and stomach felt sore and her ankles were numb. She heard a faint groan beside her and opened her eyes wide enough to examine her surroundings. She was hung from a wall in a dimly lit room that was empty of everything except herself, the body beside her and an iron table that sat before them. She was being held back by ropes around her wrists and a band around her stomach, both of which were attached to the wall behind her. She weakly turned her head to see Bruce and would've shrieked if she wasn't so weak.

"Bruce," she whispered hoarsely, "Can you hear me?"

The man was pale and barely conscious, his hair lank and his eyes sunken. He had a plastic tube in his arm that was forcing a thick, black liquid into his system. He was also tied back by restraints, though his were tighter and thicker. The door that was adjacent to them opened suddenly and Paige felt her eyes water as she saw who walked in.

"Dylan," she growled, though it was still a whimper from anyone else's view.

"Hello, Paige," he greeted solemnly, "I'm terribly sorry about all of this but you made your choice, after all."

"What are you doing to him?" she cried quietly, her voice breaking, "Why are you keeping us here?"

"Paige, I'm not about to tell you our plan when we haven't even held you for a full day yet!" Dylan laughed.

He had cleaned up since their last conversation. He wore his suits once again, his hair was neat and his skin looked healthy and fresh. He spoke with a composed manner and stood straight, his posture sophisticated.

"Why are you killing him?"

"Killing him?" the man spoke bitterly, "No, not yet. That monster won't let its host die yet."

"Then what are you doing to him? Why are we here?!"

"He deserves this!" Dylan bellowed, "We are controlling that... That _thing_ inside of him before it gets out of control! When it's weak enough, we'll kill him."

"Isn't there a way to kill the Hulk without killing Bruce Banner?" Paige begged.

"If there is then I don't care!" he roared, "That man lets the monster out and he cannot be forgiven! He joined a band of so-called superheroes and uses his unnatural powers for destruction! The world would do better without him."

"Who's making you say this?" Paige sobbed, "What's happened to you?"

"It's none of your business who I work with," Dylan spat, "Just know that it will be Alexia next if she isn't careful."

* * *

"What do you mean someone beat me to it?" Maria snarled, standing in a backstreet with her phone to her ear.

"A security camera caught three masked figures scaling the building and break in. They must have been faster," Mr Kurosawa sighed from the other end, "Gomen'nasai, Albertelli-san."

Maria growled for a moment as she glowered at the brick wall that was caked in graffiti.

"Fine," she said finally, "Is there any way to track them? Or identify them, at least?"

"We have already tried. There is no way," the man answered, "We can scower the streets of New York for them-"

"No," Maria replied flatly, "No, I will just have to beat them to the next one. They will notice that someone else is stealing their job and they will come to me."

"Who is next, then?"

"Oh, I think I have a good idea."  
She ended the phone call and turned, meeting the ugly face of a larger man with rippling muscles and a grubby shirt.

"I don't think you should be hanging round these parts, lady," he smirked, "Might find yourself in a spot of trouble."

"Well it's thankful that I was just leaving then," Maria raised an eyebrow, "Move, you oaf!"

The man's expression turned from confident to enraged and he threw a tight fist at her cheek. She swiftly sidestepped and glared at him.

"You're slowing me down! If you continue then I'll have no choice but to kill you," she barked coldly.

"Yeah right!" he guffawed, "I'd like to see you try."

Maria sighed irritably and lunged smoothly at the man's throat, catching it in an inescapable grasp and squeezing with her nails. Blood trailed from his neck as he gasped for breath. The woman pushed him against the wall and leaned forward before letting go and stepping back. The man dropped to the ground, clutching at the puncture wounds and purple skin. Maria didn't sat anything, she only scowled at him and marched away. She emerged onto a street and rolled her eyes as she caught sight of two familiar figures coming her way. Unfortunately, they had spotted her as well and sped into a sprint.

"We know your real name, Albertelli!" Barton yelled, dodging passers by as Maria began to run as well.

"Then you'll know that I have powerful friends," Maria retorted loudly, "Give up, Signor!"

Natasha was silent as they followed the woman up the emergency stairs of a building and into one of the labyrinths of corridors. Maria dissapeared and the redhead grabbed her gun as her partner reached for his bow, listening cautiously for footsteps as they inched down the hall. Suddenly, they heard the click of heels against lino and spun around to the corner it was eminating from as it got closer. Clint returned his bow and pulled out a single arrow. As a flash of burgundy approached, Clint flung his free hand out and grabbed the woman's wrist. There was an ear-shattering shriek.

"Sorry! We thought you were someone else!" Barton let go hastily as the woman whom he had captured - an auburn-haired office-worker with a dark red blazer and pale skin - crumpled to the floor at the sight of the guns.

"Please don't hurt me," she whimpered.

"Excuse him, ma'am," Natasha glared at her partner, "It's just that someone ran in here-"

The woman, who had looked up at the cool voice to see that they had returned their guns and moved back, stood up again, clinging to the wall for support, as her face hardened.

"Who do you think you are? Bringing guns in here! I'm calling the police, you know! You won't get away with this," she exclaimed, panicking.

"No, please, ma'am, we're just looking for-"

"Get out!" she demanded, though she eyed their guns and bow warily.

"We're members of a government organization known as-"

"OUT OUT OUT!" the woman screamed, ushering them with shaking hands.

Defeated, Clint turned and grumpily trudged towards the exit. Natasha pulled him back from his upper arm. She opened her mouth to say something when the woman fell to the floor again, now with a syringe in her neck.

"Don't you just _love_ chemical weapons? So efficient and they definitely get the job done! Nothing like a good old pistola, though." Maria smirked, holding a pistol in one hand and reaching for a knife with the other whilst gesturing to the woman on the floor, "Did you miss me?"

"Guess," Natasha hissed, raising her own weapon.

"You never did like me much, did you, Romanoff? I suppose you have better instincts than I initially expected."

"We're not here to talk, Albertelli!" Clint interrupted fiercely.

"Oh, I know that, Barton, but it's such a pleasure to see you again."

Natasha fired a shot at Maria's arm, but she dodged behind the corner and began to run. Clint followed at a faster speed than the redhead and found the blonde slipping into an elevator. He barely made it as he dived in after her.

"Well, this is a little more private," Maria remarked flirtatiously.

Clint did not reply, but stuck the arrow that he was still holding into her shoulder. Or , he would've done had she not snatched the weapon from his grasp and dug it into his leg. The man groaned as she yanked it out again and aimed for his chest. Ignoring the agonizing pain, Barton began to wrestle the arrow from her grip and ended up being thrown aside. Maria growled under her breath and dug into her pocket to find a small, sharp knife. He slapped her arm away from it and it dropped to the floor as he kneed her stomach.

She fell back and slammed against the metal wall, before leaping forward and punching him in the jaw. Just then, the door opened to the roof. Maria grabbed the agent's shoulders and threw him onto the concrete ground, kicking him as he thudded against it. Natasha burst onto the scene from the staircase and sprinted to defend her bleeding and weakened partner. From the floor, he had grabbed another arrow and stabbed the woman through her shoe and into her foot. She screeched with pain as she thrust her knife into his side and pulled it out.

"Clint!" Natasha bellowed, sliding across the floor to shield him from any more harm.

Maria was hobbling towards the edge of the building, searching desperately into the bag that hung from her shoulder. Natasha raced after the spy and swung wildly at her. It seemed that the woman had found what she wanted, however, and retrieved a grappling hook. The redhead snatched her arm as she stepped painfully onto the edge.

"You should take better care of your partners, Signorina," Maria smirked as she pressed onto the trigger.

Natasha watched as the hook flew through the air to the building opposite them and had no time to so much as tug on her arm before the woman was speeding after it, climbing the side of the wall before heaving herself onto the roof and running jaggedly towards the building behind it.

"Nat," Clint breathed from his position on the ground.

"Oh my God, Clint, what the hell have you done?" she whispered, skidding to his side, "I'm calling SHIELD."

"That's probably a good idea," he chuckled weakly as he motioned with his head to the arm covering his bloody wound and then again to his damp and scarlet trouser leg.

"I'm sorry, I should have been there," she frowned angrily.

"Don't blame yourself. It would have helped, sure, but-" he was interrupted by his own cough. Natasha gave a watery smile.

Maria ran and jumped and ran and jumped, not daring to stop as she put as much distance and as many buildings between herself and the two SHIELD agents. She didn't care about the agony that seared in her leg or the limp that slowed her sprint. Finally, panting heavily and her face tinged red, Maria stopped and slumped onto the ground, inspecting the painful injury that her leg had suffered. It was pretty bad and the woman wondered how much further she could take her plan without help. She grabbed her phone and taped in a few numbers before letting it ring.

"Dux Prioris? I need some help," she heaved.

"Maria? What has happened? Are you hurt?"

"A little. It's not... Fatal but it will slow me down. Send in the experiments, I cannot do this alone."

"Bene," the man sighed, "They're on the way. Also, Elliot has asked permission of the Dux to visit America in search of a cure for Elise. He will be in the USA and may visit your area."

"Grazie," Maria replied, "I trust he will not be in my way?"

"The Dux has refrained from telling me the boy's plans," Antonio grumbled, "I suggest you keep an eye out, for his sake as much as yours."

* * *

"You, sir, definitely know how to have a good time," Lexy laughed as she ran a towel through her drenched hair and her date leant against his car.

"Well, I'm good at pleasing people," Tony shrugged, a grin evident on his face.

"I wouldn't say that," Alexia joked, "You never seem to please anyone else."

"Well, maybe it's just you then."

Lexy giggled and threw the towel over her shoulders, climbing into the convertible as he walked around to the other side, wearing a pair of dark trunks and a loose grey tank top. After spending the afternoon on the beach, swimming, eating and chatting, the pair had finally retreated to Tony's car for a ride back to his house (although Alexia would've referred to it as more of a mansion). The sun was hitting the horizon as Stark revved the engine.

"Thank you so much, Tony," Lexy smiled, "I had a lot of fun."

"I think you might be repeating yourself there," Tony smirked.

"I don't care," she continued, " _I_ think you should learn to take a compliment."

"Most of the compliments I used to get weren't as innocent as that."

"Well, I'm glad you got rid of that lifestyle."

"Me, too," Tony agreed, his smile soft and light but his tone hinting at something more serious.

There was a comfortable silence in the car as they drove back up the hill, but Alexia realized something as they slowed. Where did Tony expect her to sleep? In Pepper's room? She hoped he had a little more tact than that. In _his_ room? However much Lexy felt towards the billionaire, she wasn't prepared to sleep with him after only one proper date. She began to blush an obvious pink and attempted to hide it with her drying chestnut hair. Tony turned as he stopped the car and raised his eyebrow, amused.

"You ok there?"  
Accepting that her curtain of hair was of no use, Lexy reappeared and smiled shyly.

"Where... Where am I sleeping?" she stammered, letting her eyes wander anywhere but his face.

"That's your choice, I suppose," he shrugged, "We certainly have enough rooms."

"So you don't... I just thought..." she finally let their eyes meet.

"You can sleep in my bed if you want to," he smirked shamelessly and she hit his arm, laughing slightly.

"Shut up! Fine, I'll let Jarvis pick," Lexy decided.

As they stepped in to the rounded hall, there was an unnerving silence.

"Jarvis?" Tony called.

"Y-yes, sirr?" Jarvis slurred.

"Are you... Are you alright?"

The AI was quiet again and Tony and Alexia shared a nervous glance. There was a shrill beep for a moment before the voice returned.

"I apologize, Mr Stark, it seems that my data from the Avengers Tower has possibly been hacked."

"Hacked?"

"There is a 20% chance that I was hacked, though this has the largest chance as other plausible occurences, and there are many, have a lower possibility."

"What happened?"

"I am still analysing the event."

"Should we be worried?" Lexy queried.

"So far, I suspect not, Miss Brookes. I believe it would be safe to sleep for now. I will alert you both if there are any troubling discoveries."

Alexia turned with wide eyes to the brunet, asking him silently for his opinion. He shrugged.

"If Jarvis doesn't think there's a problem, neither do I," he reasoned, "You should probably take the room opposite mine, though. Just in case anything odd is happening."

"I can protect myself, you know, and I don't need some metal suit to do it," Lexy teased, crossing her arms.

"Metal suit?" Tony faked shock as he grabbed his heart, "That hurt. I don't know if I'll ever recover from that one."

"Aw, poor little billionaire."

They spoke for a little while longer, mainly exchanging jokes and teases, before heading off to their rooms. Everything was quiet as they slept.

Not that they slept for long. At almost exactly 1AM, there were several loud buzzes ringing around the empty halls. It had started raining as they slept and, though this energized Lexy and soothed Tony, the stranger at the door was finding it a suitable representation of his desperation. Again he buzzed the button attached to the gates, clutching hopelessly at his dripping sleeves in an attempt to warm his arms, and, this time, a voice replied.

"Good evening, may I ask for your identity and reason for visiting Mr Stark at such an hour," it greeted amiably, though the way he said it suggested a little suspicion.

"D-désolé, Monsieur," he shivered, "I mean no harm to M-Monsieur Stark, I just want to save my sister."

"Your face is not recorded with any organizations that I can find, so there is a rather great chance that you could be an enemy, or have partook in plastic surgery."

"N-neither. S'il vous plais, have mercy!" Elliot cried.

"Unfortunately, I am an Artificial Intelligence, so I cannot feel mercy. You seem in distress, however, so I will alert Mr Stark to your presence."

Tony was asleep, dreaming of the woman he had spent the day with, when Jarvis' voice jolted him awake.

"Mr Stark, I'm glad you're awake."

"Because you had _nothing_ to do with it," he grumbled.

"There is a young man at the gate who tells me that he wants to save his sister."

"Why should I care?"

"Because it is raining and I also woke up Miss Brookes."

At that moment, the door burst open and Alexia, wearing an oversized top and pyjama shorts. Her face was anxious.

"Tony, tell me you aren't planning to leave him out there!" she said fiercely.

"Think about what just happened, Lexy!" he argued exasperatedly, "We don't know anything about him."

"It doesn't matter. If he is an enemy, we can take him, if he isn't, we can help. What if he's completely innocent and we just leave him out there, let his sister die while he dies of pneumonia himself?"

They shared an intense glare before, finally, Tony sighed. Alexia smiled as he stood up.

"Jarvis, let him in," he mumbled.

"Yes, sir."

They waited at the hall as he ran up the driveway and to the door. Tony had picked up a towel and Lexy a blanket for him.

"B-bonjour, Monsieur, Madame."

"Um... Mademoiselle..." Alexia corrected awkwardly.

"Oh, I am-m sorry, I just guessed that..." he trailed away as he observed Tony, "My s-sister is dying of a disease that... Well, nobody knows what, but-"

"You can talk later, warm up first," Tony ordered softly **.**

They led him to a couch where Alexia sat him down. He was still shivering. She offered him a cup of hot chocolate which he politely accepted and she ran off to get it.

"So..." Tony started awkwardly, "What's your name?"

"Elliot, m-my sister's name is Elise."

"Your parents like alliteration or something?" he joked.

"My parents are dead," Elliot replied coldly.

"Oh... Um, if it helps, my-"

"Here you go," Lexy had returned and gently passed him mug.

"Merci."

"Why are you here?" Tony queried abruptly, causing the brunette to slap his arm lightly.

"My sister is dying and I have only a few days to find the c-cure. My parents were in India quite a few years ago, discovering a new one for my mother but Stark Industries found it first. I don't know what happened but by the end of it, _my_ parents were dead and _your_ company were walking a-away with the cure."

His face had turned from desperate to resentful as he spoke. Lexy looked at Tony with curiosity and the man looked away.

"A lot of things were happening in 2008," he answered delicately, "I had a... Partner back then who wasn't exactly interested in the good of the company."

"Why would they kill your parents, though? Even if the company was corrupt?" Alexia questioned gently.

There was a moment of silence as Elliot hesitated. Lexy and Tony shared a glance.

"My family belongs to the Familia de Superiores," he spoke quietly but as soon as he uttered the words, both superheroes stood up, "But I am not here on Familia business! My sister is in trouble, I come here as a neutral party!"

The woman before him was confused and frightened. If Elliot found out who she really was, how would he react? How had the Familia found her so quickly?

"We don't help enemies," Tony hissed, his hand outstretched as if waiting for something.

"Then we will leave the Familia, but Elise needs that cure and there is no other way to get it than through Stark Industries."

Tony glanced at Alexia and they had a silent conversation as she nodded her head violently and he shook his in return. Finally, he sighed and lowered his hand.

"Bring your sister to America and I'll see what I can do," he promised.

"That is impossible, Monsieur Stark!" Elliot exclaimed abruptly, "She is too weak. She will die within the next few days, I need to bring the cure back to her."

Lexy frowned as Tony began to think, which was almost never a good thing in these kinds of situations.

"Ok, here's the deal. You take a tracker back with you. You show us exactly where the Familia is hiding. We wait for you to leave, give you a bit of time to get out before we attack them at their base."

"Tony..." Lexy bit her lip.

"C'mon, this is a great idea!"

"You can't turn him against the people he's grown up around," she argued.

"No, no, it's alright," Elliot sighed, "I'll do it for Elise."

"Elliot, you really don't have to," Alexia countered gently, "I'm sure we can-"

"Lexy, he's already agreed," Tony interrupted, "I'll go and find a chip, I'm sure I have one somewhere downstairs."  
He darted towards the staircase and began talking to Jarvis, leaving a frowning Lexy and a shivering Elliot.

"I'm sorry," Alexia murmured.

"I am sorry too," Elliot whispered.

The woman was silent, though she wondered what he meant by it. She also began to doubt Tony, who had been so certain that forcing a teen to betray his entire family was right that she shuddered to think of the lengths he would go to before considering something wrong.

 **Did you like it? Leading up to the big fight now. Not next chapter, but maybe the one after that? We'll have to wait and see...**

 **Please, please, please review if you enjoyed, or if you didn't, just tell me your opinion so I can improve! Also, if you enjoyed follow and/or favourite!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Um... Let's just pretend those three months never happened... For everyone's sake. Hello again! Hope you all haven't forgotten about the story. Recap: Tensions were rising and we're about to meet two new faces. Please, please, PLEASE review!**

 **Disclaimer: I only own my OC's, the rest is all Marvel.**

 **Chapter 23 - The Poison and The Virus**

How many hours of sleep did Alexia get after Elliot arrived on the doorstep? Well, there was the five minutes it took for Tony to find the stranger a suitable, drier outfit, the twenty minutes from the journey to the airport and the ten or so minutes on the plane in between Tony's plan-making and arguing with the attendants (due to the short notice, they had to take a public plane). So slightly more than half an hour. That seemed about right.

No, she was being selfish. Tony hadn't slept a wink since Elliot arrived. _Then again,_ a sly voice in her head argued, _It was his idea to do all of this, instead of just finding the boy his cure._ It was true. Tony had mapped out an entire plan of how to monitor Elliot's every move from the journey to the Familia's hideout to the location of each member. She felt sick just thinking about what the poor boy was going to go through, but there was something else. A mix of trepidation and anxiety that sprouted with Elliot's words. 'I'm sorry too'... She couldn't piece together whether he meant it about Tony, about how it made her feel or about... Something else.

When they arrived at the Tower, Lexy felt wide awake. There was blood stained across the floor, a few cops skirting the entrance and not a single security guard in sight. The police spotted Tony almost immediately and marched over.

"Mr Stark, we have some unfortunate news," one of them started gravely.

"What happened?" Tony demanded immediately and Alexia placed a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"The entirety of your security force were attacked by a woman. Two are dead, four are in critical condition and the rest are stable, but in hospital."

"When did this happen?" Lexy whispered.

"Last night. We have tried cooperating with your computer-"

"Jarvis!" Tony roared, storming into the reception.

"Yes, sir?" Jarvis answered innocently.

"Don't you have any memory of what happened?"

"It appears that I was hacked last night. The last memory I have stored is one of three masked figures in the elevator."

"Oh my God!" Alexia exlaimed, "Jarvis, where are the other Avengers? And Paige?"

"Paige Seath and Bruce Banner were within the Tower when the three trespassers were here. They are no longer in the Tower," Jarvis replied swiftly.

"And the others?"

"Steve Rogers is still missing, Thor Odinson was away in Asgard and Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton visited SHIELD. These are the last recorded whereabouts of the Avengers."

Alexia quickly retrieved her phone as Tony did the same.

"Steve, Bruce and Paige," he said.

"Natasha and Clint."

Speedily dialing Natasha's number, Lexy brought the phone to her ear.  
"Nat? You there?" she asked hurriedly.

"Hey Lexy," Romanoff yawned from the other end.

"Where are you? Are you ok? Is Clint with you?"

"The SHIELD Helicarrier, yes but Clint isn't and he's in the medical bay. What's going on? Are _you_ alright?" she sounded wide awake now.

"The Tower was invaded or something, I'm not really sure. I'm glad you guys are ok. You haven't by any chance met up with or spoken to Bruce or Paige, have you?"

"No, are they ok? Do you know where they are?"

"They were in the Tower when the attackers were," Alexia groaned.

"We'll come back as soon as possible and help you look. What about Tony? He's with you, right? Have you heard from Steve or Thor?" Natasha questioned quickly.

"Tony's with me and we have someone with us who... Might be able to help. As far as we know, Thor is in Asgard and Steve is wherever he was yesterday."

Natasha and Lexy continued to talk as Tony tried to contact the others. He tried Bruce first and got no reply. Trying Steve gave no results and he dialed Paige's number, his hope burning out rapidly. But she answered.

"Hello, Mr Stark," the voice wasn't Paige's. It was a man's tone.

"Who is this?" he demanded, "Where's Paige?"

"Miss Seath can't come to the phone right now," he chuckled darkly, "She's a little tied up at the moment."

"Where the hell is she, you son of a-"

"Now, now, you won't be speaking to either of them with _that_ language."

"You... 'Either of them'?"

"Oh, did I not mention? We have your radiated friend as well. He won't last as long, of course, but he's hanging on at the moment."

"What are you doing to him?" Tony's voice was barely steady.

"We see it as... Cleansing the world of an over-powered monster. And he's just the first, Mr Stark. Is Lexy there?" the voice asked pleasantly.

"Are you Dylan?"

"Ooh, good try. You're getting closer, but Dylan's a little busy at the moment. Sorry, I must be off. Send Lexy our love, we'll be seeing her quite soon, unfortunately."

Before Tony could say another word, the line went dead. He almost crushed his phone in fury as he turned to his partner, who had just finished her conversation and hung up. Elliot stood a little distance away, surveying the scene.

"Nat and Clint are alright, they're on the Helicarrier. They don't know anything about the others."

"Paige and Bruce have been kidnapped by your brother and parents."

"Adoptive parents," she corrected automatically and sighed desperately, "Why am I not surprised? Going to California was a mistake."

"We couldn't have known that any of this was going to happen!" Tony argued, "We just need to regroup. Thor should be back soon enough, we can start looking for Steve and we can ask SHIELD for help detecting where Paige and Bruce are."

"What about Maria? She attacked Clint and now he's in the medical bay, I don't think she should be ignored."

"Once we're all together again, we can start looking for her."

"Excuse moi, where does my sister fit into all of this?"

They both turned in surprise to where Elliot stood with his arms folded and eyebrows furrowed.

"We can... Well, we can't fight off the entire Familia without the rest of our team," Tony was becoming more exasperated by the second.

"And we can't just leave Elise to die while you rally your troops!" Elliot shouted, agitated, "Just let me go home with the plant. I can heal her and, when the time comes, we will help you."

"How can we trust you?" Tony narrowed his eyes, "I'm not letting you go without leverage."

"You would have saved my sister! Of course we would help you!"

"Tony, let him go. I trust Elliot," Alexia interrupted.

There was a moment of silence as the gears churned in Stark's head. Finally, he sighed.

"Fine," he looked up, "Jarvis! Find where the plant is and send someone here with it as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

"Merci, Monsieur."

"What's first, then?" Tony grumbled.

"I say we go to the Helicarrier. We can meet up with Nat and Clint and ask Fury for help contacting Thor and searching for Bruce, Paige and Steve," Lexy advised.

"I can stay here," Elliot offered, "I would probably slow you down and the plant will arrive at this location, will it not?"

"Ok, stay here. I'll tell the police to leave and call someone to clean up the mess. Stay in the lobby and ask Jarvis of you need anything," Tony ordered.

"Goodbye, Elliot," Lexy smiled weakly.

"Au revoir, Mademoiselle," he replied gently.

Tony pulled out his phone again and began tapping rapidly. They re-entered the car that they had taken from the airport and Happy looked at them expectantly.

* * *

"We got a call from your friend," Dylan mentioned as he dug a syringe into Bruce's weakened arm, "Tony Stark?"

Paige looked up at him, glaring with all of her might.

"What did you tell him?" she snarled.

"Nothing but the truth, I promise you," Dylan laughed, "He sounded quite panicked, though, according to Joe. Nothing like his television persona, I'll tell you that much."

"What time is it?"

"Early morning, probably. I haven't been outside in a while, myself. Karen and Joe have been looking for the woman who is rivaling us. She was in the Tower too, but we got there first. Then she attacked the two SHIELD agents."

"Nat and Clint," Paige gasped.

"Don't worry, they're alright. Neither of them are our targets anyway. If they're caught in the crossfire..." he shrugged nonchalantly and retrieved the syringe, sticking it into a machine beside them, "Still holding on to that superstrength of yours, eh, Dr Banner?"

"Dylan, you can't kill him. Just let us go."

"I can," Dylan snapped, "You don't know what I'm capable of. These chemicals were formed for the purpose of weakening gamma radiation... Or something like that. Joe knows the science of it all, but the point is, I can kill him."

With that, he stormed out of the room. Paige sighed and glanced at her unconscious companion. There must be something she can do.

* * *

Maria was becoming more impatient by the second. Her two allies were yet to arrive and she had been sitting at the top of the abandoned train station (their agreed meeting spot) for over half an hour, ignoring the aching of her battered body. She stood up, dusting off the rubble from her expensive (yet unclean and slightly bloodied) clothing and reaching for her stolen car keys. The entire operation was taking longer than expected and now she couldn't even find her reinforcements in the ridiculously large and busy city.

As she took an unsteady step towards the exit, the door was blasted open. Though slightly startled by the sudden entrance, Maria rolled her eyes. These were the types of theatrics she expected when working with the super powered experiments. The first to enter was, of course, the curvy silhouette of Anthuria. As she flicked her long auburn hair back and showed off her perfectly painted face, the second figure joined her. Red Techno, with his short, spiky hair and sly smirk, was slightly shorter than his accomplice, but made up for it in speed and knowledge. They wore matching crimson outfits, though Anthuria's was a tight leotard and a short skirt, while Red Techno's covered his entire body and had bright white lines running along the threads.

They stood as if posing for a photo shoot, until Maria marched up to them and shoved the folder she was holding into the young man's arms. He glared at her for a moment before rifling through, his eyes skimming each page. The woman glanced over his shoulder at every page.

"These are your targets. Keep the last one alive and don't incapacitate her," Maria instructed stonily, "There may be a member of the Familia still nearby, he's French and young. Ignore him."

"These people... Aren't they the Avengers?" Anthuria asked suspiciously, a thick Californian accent in each syllable.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Maria answered coldly.

"No problem, I am just wondering why we are after such high profile and strong enemies."

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall, Annie," Red Techno grinned, "Just means a larger victory for us."

"One whom they know as a leader of sorts, Captain America, has been taken care of for now, I think. A place to look might be the SHIELD Helicarrier, but be careful, they're more advanced than they may seem," Maria finished.

"Hey Red," Anthuria smirked, "You can take the metal suit, I'll take the spies?"

"It would be my pleasure."

* * *

Clint was groaning in the medical bay when they arrived, but not in pain. His doctor had announced that the injuries would heal quickly, but that a couple of days rest would be 'beneficial.'

"Beneficial!" he repeated for the fifth time, "Do you know what that means? It means I am confined to this stupid room for another 24 hours because of a few cuts."

"Clint, I think it's a little more than a few cuts," Natasha rolled her eyes.

Barton began to quietly grumble a response and Lexy almost giggled. Almost.

"So, where's the 'someone who might be able to help'?" Natasha asked and Tony frowned.

"We sent him home with what he needed. He's probably leaving later this afternoon," Tony relayed the information with mild regret.

"Who was he?" Clint prompted.

"Just someone with a connection to the Familia," Alexia smiled weakly, "He's innocent, of course."

It was quite true. The two spies nodded uncertainly.

"I think our main aim should be finding Bruce and Paige," she continued worriedly, "They've been kidnapped and Tony said that Bruce was being 'cleansed' or something. It sounds bad."

"What about Steve?" Nat asked, "We haven't seen him in days, now. He could be in even more trouble."

"I agree with Miss Brookes," a deep voice announced as a familiar eye patch closed the room's door.

"Director Fury, sir, I just think that-"

"Captain America can take care of himself. Miss Seath can't protect herself at all and from what it sounds like, the other guy is either gonna disappear completely or be forced into a frenzy."

"Sorry, I called him," Lexy shrugged as Clint and Tony looked questioning.

"Alright," the redhead agreed reluctantly, "When's Thor getting here?"

"He was planning to come back today, anyway," Tony responded.

"We're already searching New York for Banner and Seath. Alexia, do you know anywhere they would be?"

"I doubt they shared their secret lair with their teenage daughter," Tony rolled his eyes.

"Well, didn't stop them with Dylan," Lexy muttered.

"Dylan!" Natasha exclaimed suddenly, "Your parents are probably smart enough to be careful whenever they go out, but Dylan has got to be on security cameras somewhere and we can follow him back to wherever Paige and Bruce are."

Fury nodded and began to make a call, slipping out of the room to make it.

"Until SHIELD finds them, we should watch out. Maria's still after us and she's probably got some help by now," Clint added.

"I don't think Karen and Joe will be stopping with Bruce either. Tony, do you think you could improve Jarvis' software tonight or should we stay somewhere else?"

"Even if I could, I don't think we should stay at the Tower," the genius replied, "And I don't really feel like staying here all night, no offense Barton." (he shrugged) "Does anyone else know of anywhere?"

Alexia bit her lip, "Well, I'm still renting out my old apartment. Dylan has only been there twice, Joe and Karen haven't even seen it and no one, not even SHIELD, knew that I was still renting it out."

Natasha smiled in approval and Tony chuckled.

"Don't mind me, I suppose. I'll just stay here all night for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON!" he yelled these last words while eyeing the door aggressively.

Alexia did laugh this time, it was soft and small, but it brightened the room.

"Once they let you out, you can join the sleepover as well," she teased.

"We can tell Thor when he comes back," Natasha added as Fury walked back in.

"Nick, have you found _anything_ on Steve yet?" Lexy asked.

"Not much. He was accompanied by Albertelli and traveled by subway. That's where we lost them: getting off at one of the stations. We're scanning the area."

"Let's go," Tony decided, "We've got nothing else to do. Maybe three pairs of fresh eyes will help."

Fury nodded slightly as Clint mumbled something inchorrent under his breath.

"What, are we just going to stroll around hoping to find him in a backstreet or sitting on a building's front steps?" Nat remarked skeptically.

"Sort of," Tony grinned.

* * *

 **(Warning! Some images of gore. There is a brief explanation at the end if you don't want to read it.)  
**

Panting heavily, Elliot raced through the halls of the hideout, footsteps clapping against the floor as he skidded yet another corner. The plant was held precariously with both palms, it's violet petals were drooping unhappily. When he finally reached the room he had been seeking, the Javier threw the door open with one hand and began to shout hoarsely.

"Dr Santoya, I have it!" he exclaimed at the man, who was bent over the bed with alert eyes.

He returned to his full height and examined the boy at the threshold. Swiftly, the doctor approached, relieving Elliot of the plant and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I will take the pollen to make a medicine. I suppose that is how your parents intended to use it?" he questioned seriously.

The boy had no idea how the plant was to be used, so he shrugged and nodded helplessly. The man, who's pale skin and darkly circled eyes gave away his own ill health, surveyed the shaking French quickly.

"Take a seat next to your sister," he instructed quietly, "Get some rest before I return."

Again, Elliot nodded. Santoya darted out of the room with the plant hastily and the blonde advanced to his restless sister's bedside, slumping into the empty chair. Elise was thrashing about, arms, legs, neck, hands, face all spasming sporadically, her eyes squeezed shut in pain. He wanted to comfort her, but he hadn't slept in so long, and she couldn't hear him anyway. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, Dr Santoya was back, shaking his forearm gently and holding a small bottle of light purple liquid.

"Elliot? I thought you'd want to be awake for the results," the doctor explained briefly.

Without waiting for a reply, Santoya turned back to his patient, gently scooping her writhing head in one smooth, cupped hand and tipping the bottle towards her dry mouth with the other. At first, the barely-conscious girl resisted the drink, but slowly, her lips parted. When every drop had vanished, Santoya sat back, breathing a sigh of finality. Either there would be improvement, or the girl was lost. Elise lay back, no longer moving at all, though her chest still heaved slightly. Eventually, even that began to cease. Elliot was frozen, staring with wide, hopeful eyes. Minutes passed with no change and the doctor sighed again.

"I'm sorry, Elliot," he murmured, "There is nothing more to do."

"But… It was supposed to save her!" the last Javier argued with a single tear in his eye,

"The plant… Maybe it takes time to work!"

Santota lowered his eyes.

"We shall wait, then," he said lowly, "Why don't you replace the cloth? To keep her temperature down."

Elliot nodded sharply, standing on weak legs and snatching the drying flannel draped over the pale girl's forehead. He raced out of the room and through the adjacent doorway, then dropped the item into the slightly dirtied sink and twisted the handle. The cool, clear water splatted against the rag and Elliot tapped his foot arrhythmically against linoleum. There was some noise that made him swivel to face the corridor and the room past it: a meek shout, a thump and an uncomfortable shredding sound, softened by the closed door. Elliot clawed at the renewed cloth, roughly disrupted the flow of water and stumbled forward, blinded by the euphoria of certainty that his sister was alive and better. He thrust the door open, barely noticing its sudden strain, but his smile dropped at the sight of the room.

"Elise…"

The girl was crouched, cowering in the corner made by her bed and the wall, her face hidden from her brother. Between them was a sickening sight, one that Elliot would never rid from his mind. The hard floor was stained by a spreading pool of crimson water, which centered around a barely recognizable body. Dr Santoya was no longer whole, and was definitely dead. The parts of him that were missing had been flung in all directions. Elliot wanted to vomit.

"Elise, what did you do?" he whispered, shaking violently.

Seemingly, the girl heard him this time, and turned quickly. Her brother's mouth opened and he gasped briskly. Her eyes were lined with red as they had been before, but now the gap between the circle of raw red was filled with a shocking violet. Her hair hung greasily around her pasty face, some damp locks lumped together with blood, the same blood that was smeared across her chin and around her mouth. She smiled weakly at him.

"Elliot?" she greeted with hope and admiration, "You came to save me?"

 **(For anyone who didn't read due to the slight gore, basically, the plant has turned Elise savage. At least she's cured, right? Right?)**

* * *

It hurt like hell. The thirst was starting to get to him and the hunger was roaring angrily in his stomach. No matter the pain, however, Steve felt a light feeling when his legs and arms began to twitch. His bones ached as they moved for the first time in who-knew-how-many hours and he had barely enough energy to raise a finger properly, but he was grinning on the inside.

His vision was blurry and his breathing was hitched. Steve kept pushing, because if he stopped driving himself to move more and more, the supersoldier had a feeling that he wouldn't last very long, even with the serum that flowed through his veins. How long had it been since he last saw his friends? It seemed like years. He could almost imagine Tony bursting through the door, hear Alexia's anxious whispers as Natasha helped him up and practically carried him out of the tiny apartment. Wait a moment...

Steve blinked in shock as he felt the familiar soft skin of the Russian spy brush past his own. Tony was on his other side, looking as pale and sickly as the soldier felt. Lexy was holding the door open for them, her wide eyes fixed on his almost unmoving face. He wanted to tell her that he was ok, that there was no need to worry, but he couldn't and it wouldn't be believable anyway.

They led him to a sleek car on the bustling street below and gently lowered him onto the backseat. Natasha clambered into the driver's seat and Tony didn't even complain about not riding his own expensive car. He just slid silently into the leather chair beside her. Alexia was next to Steve, rapidly forming water with her fingers that hovered in the air and swayed towards his tightly shut mouth. She eased his parched lips apart and coaxed the liquid through the gap.

He almost choked as it streamed down his throat, but the refreshing act brought some of his senses back and he was able to swallow. The brunette sighed with relief and relayed the information to the front of the car. At least, that's what it looked like she was doing. All Steve could hear was the pounding in his ears. His vision slowly faded. Whether it was slumber or unconsciousness, for the first time since he had been paralyzed, Steve felt peaceful.

 **Steve's back! Who are these new villains? Where are Bruce and Paige being held? Why am I asking questions?**

 **It doesn't matter if you liked it or disliked it, please review and tell me your thoughts! If you did like it, follow/favourite for more!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello and welcome back, fanfiction readers of the Internet. This one's a little short and I have a great excuse for that but I doubt any of you really care for excuses so onwards to the story!**

 **Anthurium - basically just a poisonous plant, also known as Laceleaf. "** ** _Anthurium_ plants are poisonous due to calcium oxalate crystals. The sap is irritating to the skin and eyes."**

 **Disclaimer: Marvel ain't mine and neither are its characters, but the OCs and this plot are my property so yeah.**

 **Chapter 24: Meeting Their Makers**

Slurred words and blurry colours. A heavy pounding in his head and a cold sweat glossing over his skin. Steve tensed as he awoke. His entire body felt like he had been frozen again, though this time he have felt every instant of his time away from his team and friends. He could almost hear his bones creak as he struggled to sit up. A pair of hands quickly aided him.

"Steve? Are you alright?" a familiar, light voice asked anxiously.

Steve groaned in response and opened both eyes slowly. Alexia stood beside him, with Tony hovering behind her. On his other side was a glass of water standing on a wooden table. Captain America observed the room blearily. The walls were a cool blue and the floor was smothered in a cream carpet. There was a large closet adjascent to the door and a window opposite that.

He tried to speak, but felt a numb tongue and a dry mouth preventing him. Alexia noticed his struggle and quickly supplied the glass. Slowly, his jaw fell and the refreshing liquid was poured in. Feeling returned almost immediately.

"Where am I?" he croaked.

"My old apartment!" Lexy smiled nervously, "We thought that the Tower wasn't safe after… Well, I'll explain later, and Natasha thought that they'd expect us to go to SHIELD seeing as Clint's in the medical bay, so I suggested we come here. I've been renting it out secretly."

"Why's Clint in the…? Who's 'they'? What happened at the Tower? Where is everyone?"

"Clint had a little run in with Maria -who's an Albertelli from the Familia, by the way - and he's not in great shape," Alexia's expression dampened as she relayed the events, "Paige and Bruce were kidnapped by my… By Dylan and his adoptive parents. Thor's next door - making breakfast - and Natasha is helping at SHIELD."

"And I was only out of the action for a few days?" Steve joked weakly.

"Do you think you can walk, yet? We didn't know how long it would take for you to wake up seeing as you have that supersoldier serum and all."

Swinging his legs over the side of the small bed, Steve began to rise, but lost balance almost immediately. Lexy barely caught him before he toppled onto the ground. She giggled slightly as he groaned again and fell back onto the bed.

"Alright, well, I suggest you stretch those muscles while I grab some breakfast-in-bed for you," she decided. The blonde nodded in return, a small upwards tilt at the end of his mouth.

He laid back as Alexia and Tony, who was strangely quiet, hurried out of the room. Thor, who was stirring a mix of grey and thick ingredients, looked up.

"Is our shield brother awake?" he questioned loudly, making Tony jump slightly.

"Yeah. He can't move a whole lot, though. I can only imagine…" Lexy frowned.

"Would some coffee help?" Tony asked, approaching the pot and turning to face her.

"I doubt it could do any harm," she shrugged, "What… What are you cooking there, Thor?"

The Norse God showed her the revolting bowl with pride and continued to stir.

"Asgardian traditional healing mix. I discovered that many common Midgardian plants are similar to my world's counterparts, so I supposed that they were easily exchangeable," the broad blonde explained cheerfully.

"Is that how it's supposed to look?" Tony enquired nervously.

Thor shrugged with a blissfully ignorant grin.

"I have never tried the recipe before, though I am sure I cannot be too wrong."

Alexia rasied the corner of her mouth anxiously as she took a mug from Tony.

"Is there anything else to eat?" the billionaire muttered when their hands touched.

"Don't be rude," she whispered in response, "He's trying his best."

"It's almost done!" Thor notified, "Is there a 'blow-torch' or similar device within your kitchen, Lady Alexia?"

She laughed weakly. There was a moment of silence (and bafflement in Thor's case) before the woman pointed at a drawer.

After an awkward meal, involving the three Avengers crowded around Steve's bed and a strange bowl of chewy, cough-inducing slop, Steve felt a newfound surge of energy and was able to hobble and limp onto the couch in the lounge with little help. Tony stole the bathroom to answer a call from Natasha while Thor boasted of his cooking superiority.

"What _was_ that stuff she gave you?" Lexy murmured as she watched her teammate stretch across the seat in mild pain.

"Some kind of poison. Who knows?" Steve shrugged.

"It must have been pretty potent to put a supersoldier in this state."

Tony opened the bathroom door. They all turned to him.

"Natasha wants to meet us at the Tower. They think they've found Bruce's and Paige's location but we need to pick up Cap's shield first, if you're ready to fight."

The pairs of eyes now slid to Steve, who nodded confidently and stood up, barely wobbling as he did so. Lexy frowned.

"Tony, are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked quietly as the Captain changed in her room and Thor cleaned the kitchen.

"If he wants to help, I don't see why he can't," the billionaire replied, distracted.

"Tony!" Alexia snapped, a frustrated glare coating her eyes, "I _really_ don't think that this is a good idea. Let's leave him to rest for a while, regain his strength."

Tony was about to reply when Captain America interrupted, seeming a little off-balance but otherwise fine.

"Are we leaving now?" he questioned.

"Onwards, to the battlefield!" Thor retorted loudly, already swinging the door open.

Lexy sighed and followed as they filed out and into an inconspicuous van that Tony had hired the day before.

* * *

They arrived at the Tower to find Natasha already waiting, suited up and impatiently tapping her foot. As the van pulled up, she turned and tensed, but relaxed as Alexia stepped out and ran over. As they began to speak, Steve and Thor entered the impressive building. Tony waited in the van, fiddling with his phone. As the Thunder God and supersoldier stepped into the elevator, two new figures plummeted to the ground, smirking confidently. A stunning woman and a shorter, mischievous-looking man.

Natasha was the first to react and placed a steady hand on her pistol. The female giggled slightly and blew a kiss towards her. An ugly green mist followed her line of sight and seeped into the spy, who accidentally breathed it in. Immediately, she began to choke and splutter, leaning against a bollard as Lexy raised her hands. Tony, noticing the danger for the first time, scrambled out and tapped something on his wrist.

Siren wrenched water from the nearest drains and any other opportunity and forced them into a dripping mass raised above the two attackers' heads. The male chuckled as it began to fall and started to form a net of sparks, who-knows-how-many volts of electricity encasing the sphere and causing an almost immediate reaction, at which point he threw the corrupted creation at the superhero. Alexia was engulfed and slammed into a wall on the opposing side of the street. By this point, anyone who had occupied the roads and sidewalks had fled.

"Lex- Siren!" Tony shouted.

The elemental jerked slightly but said nothing. The billionaire skidded to her side, attempting to touch her arm with a careful hand. He recoiled as his skin was zapped by the damp electricity.

Finally, his armor could be seen, soaring through the air from one of the higher floors of the Avengers Tower. He caught the gauntlet around his fist and braced his torso for the metal that soon clamped around it. Natasha was leaning against the van now, hacking violently as she struggled to breathe. Both of the opponents were facing Iron Man, knowing smirks clear on their faces.

"Watch out for the other two, Red," the woman reminded quietly, "They'll be back soon."

"You can take those two," he replied, "I want the famous Iron Man."

The said superhero stood. Though they couldn't see it, his body was practically shaking with rage. The poison spread from the woman and tried to penetrate the armor, but when it merely curled around his neck and stomach, she shrugged and turned to the door, breathing into and rubbing her hands to form the wisps of unnaturally green smoke. Tony sent a repulsor blast at her back, but a wall of pure neon light stopped it in its tracks. The man smirked.

"Who the _hell_ are you two?" Iron Man growled.

"Red Techno, at your service," the man introduced cheekily, "Though I bet you wish I wasn't."

"And who's she?"

"My daring and devious partner, Anthuria. Look it up, it's quite a cool name when you know what it means."

"I know what Anthurium is," he snapped.

"Oh yeah!" Red Techno clicked his fingers together in sudden remembrance, "You're the genius billionaire yada yada, aren't you? Cool armor, by the way. Too bad it's run by my element."

Iron Man couldn't get another word in before Red Techno tightened a fist and the hero felt a magnetic pull coerce his armor. He stumbled back a little in an attempt to tear the growing bond. At that moment, a familiar shield knocked the villain in the back of the head. Anthuria snarled as Thor aimed his hammer at her stomach and sent a quick dart of smoke at him. It crawled into his nostrils, ears, eyelids and mouth, but the Viking God barely noticed as he swung his deadly weapon, meeting its target exactly.

Captain America helped Black Widow to her feet and into the van. He signaled to Tony that they were about to leave and caught his returning, vibranium alloy frisbee with ease. The now-almost-unconscious Red Techno groaned slightly as Iron Man shuffled past, Siren slung across both shoulders. Anthuria scuttled past the vehicle, before Thor could grab her skinny arm, and lay over her partner, panting heavily and releasing her toxic mist with every breath. They were soon engulfed in it and were gone by the time it cleared.

* * *

Lexy woke up in the SHIELD medical bay for a second time, though in this instance it was with a jerk upwards and a sudden gasp. It took a second to take in her surroundings. Unlike her previous room, this one had another bed, which was occupied by a certain archer that raised an eyebrow at her abrupt awakening. Natasha sat in the corner, reading an old Captain America comic. She glanced at her friend, acknowledging that she was alright, before returning to the dimly coloured pages. Tony rested beside her, a newspaper covering his face as soft, quiet snores erupted from beneath. Alexia smiled sadly, calming at the sight. He had seemed off lately, but, looking as he did now, she knew that there was no irreversible change in him since the moment she had fallen in love.

"Tony," she whispered, gently shaking his shoulder.

He snorted slightly, causing a short giggle from the bed-ridden brunette, and sat up straight, letting the newspaper slide down his lap and onto the floor.

"You okay?" he immediately questioned, staring into her eyes in search of a cause for concern, "Man, don't do that. Geez, you're gonna give me a heart attack."

"What?" Lexy grinned, "Getting hit with a giant ball of electric water or waking you up when you're obviously in deep sleep."

"Both?" he replied uncertainly and shook his head as if to clear the sleep from it.

"How long have I been out?"

"A few hours," he yawned, "You didn't miss much."

"Lexy, we're injury buddies!" Clint joked, throwing her a bottle of water that sat on his bedside table unnecessarily (she could have just let it float throught air and into her waiting hand).

"Not for long," Natasha spoke up, lowering her comic, "Lexy suffered minor burn injuries, she'll be out by the end of the day. You still have a couple of days left before you can put pressure on that leg."

"You ruin all the fun," the archer pouted.

"Where's everyone else?" Alexia asked.

"Scouting out the area where we think your parents are holding Paige and Bruce," Natasha responded bluntly, "They're not taking any action, though. We don't know what we're up against and, seeing as they're _your_ foster family and all, you'd probably want to be involved."

"Actually," the brunette muttered, "I wish I didn't have to be involved."

"Lexy," Tony murmured, "Everything will be fine."

Had he said that the day before, Alexia may have snapped that he couldn't possibly know that, or frowned and ranted silently in her head, at least. But now, after finding the genius waiting patiently at her side instead of helping his team, the elemental decided that it would be best not to argue and enjoy the moment before it was interrupted by yet another fight or phone call.

 **Hope you liked it. If so - or if not, for that matter - write a review. I don't know when I'll be uploading next but let's pray for February, 'kay? Also, if you have any ideas to inspire me, it would be really helpful!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Warning! This is being uploaded from my phone and so any problems with the layout of this chapter will be directly blamed on that. By me, at least. In other news, I was able to upload two chapters within the same month so... Yay me! Again, it's kinda short, but still, an improvement. This chapter is cute, imo, and shares some feels between Tony and Lexy, just because there hasn't been much romance between them lately.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters, only my OCs.**

 **Chapter 25 - Dreams, Flashbacks and Real Talk**

"I don't understand something," Alexia decided that evening as the team (including Clint on Skype) huddled around the enclosed layout of comfy couches that filled up the centre of the Siren's apartment, "I got hit with an entire - like - _building's_ worth of water and electricity. How come I only suffered minor burns?"

"It's true that you have a weakness for electricity, seeing as it and water don't mix very well," Steve answered, "But the water that you had created had already taken the full force of the energy. When it was flown back at you, you instinctively repelled the water and were only hit with the electric net that held the mass in place. The water only hit the wall and street behind you… Or, that's what Stark mentioned, anyway."

"Oh," Lexy smiled cheerily, "Cool!"

"Where is Tony?" Clint queried as he adjusted his side of the screen helplessly, searching the room for the genius.

"The Man of Iron is in the workshop, attempting to figure out what the Techno, which is coloured red, did to his armor and if he can prevent it from happening again," Thor responded this time.

"He really shouldn't be at the Tower alone," Lexy bit her lip.

"He'll be back soon."

"So," the archer continued, "You're up against a poisonous-plant-girl, crazy-music-genre-guy, the Brookes-Von-Psycho family - no offense, Lexy - and an entire Familia of trained agents and _I'm_ missing out on _all_ of it?!"

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" Natasha smirked.

"What's the plan for saving Paige and Bruce?" Lexy sat up.

"We know the neighborhood they're in, some agents are scouting it out, now," Steve informed, "I think we should wait until tomorrow to attack."

"Good idea," Clint nodded importantly, "We all need our rest."

"Clint, you are _not_ coming!" Nat exclaimed.

"Can't hear you, we're losing connection, I'm going through a tunnel-"

"You're in the SHIELD medical bay!"

"Bye…!"

With that, the screen switched off. The team rolled their eyes knowingly. The floor was laden with sleeping bags, which many in the group had resented. Tony had teased the entire afternoon that they'd all be sleeping on the floor while he and Alexia rested on her bed. At one point, Lexy had considered telling him that he couldn't, but he seemed so happy about the idea that she didn't have the heart to tease him like that.

Tony returned just before the Avengers slid into their 'bedrolls' (as Thor referred to them), looking slightly downhearted. He greeted them with his usual sarcastic attitude, but clambered into the bed with a heavy sigh. Lexy frowned.

"Are you alright, Tony?" she questioned softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He glanced at her and forced a smile.

"Fine, just working out how one small and surprisingly skittish idiot could almost pull apart an Iron Man suit with his bare… Energy."

"Sleep on it," the brunette suggested, "I'm sure there's a way to stop him."

* * *

It started again, with an ugly, burning pain in his chest, his vision blurred with both tears and sand, voices shouting in a native language. He remembered everything from the moment he arrived, Yinsen being the only source of hope in a world of misery and even that faded. The psychologucal and physical torture of his first experience with waterboarding and the intense heat of the desert as he dragged his feet through the burning grains. He remembered recovering and then immediately being forced into action again with the Avengers, flying straight into a wormhole and witnessing something that no human had ever seen before. Then having it explode before his eyes, a sick sense of disappointment at losing such a sight as the force of heat and pain blasted him backwards.

Tony didn't remember the fall to the ground, but, when he woke up, he sure as hell felt the hit of the Hulk and the prolonged dread of brushing sides with death. That was as far as his dreams usually got before replaying themselves again and again until he woke up, but this time, something changed. He saw Alexia, staring worriedly at him as they approached his blood-tainted Tower receprion, swarming with police. He saw Clint, lying helplessly in a hospital, the hidden spark of rage and anxiety behind Natasha's emotionless expression. Tony imagined the torment and terrors that Paige and Bruce were being forced to live through, the despair of their situations. The weakened and depleted Avengers against the Familia, these mysterious new villains and Lexy's family.

He woke up with a heavy gasp, wide eyes and sweat falling from his brow. Alexia was rubbing soothing circles into his upper back, glassy fear in her wide eyes. It had happened again. He had showed his new girlfriend his true nature before they had even been on their second date and her panicked pupils said it all.

"Tony," she whispered, pity coating her soft tone.

"I'm sorry," he replied thickly, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"No, Tony, it's fine," the brunette assured, edging closer, "What happened?"

"It… It happens sometimes," he allowed, "It's not a big deal."

Alexia's frown deepened. There was silence for a moment, only broken by Tony's unsteady panting.

"When I was 12," she began quietly, tracing an intricate pattern on his shoulder, her eyes gazing into the mattress, "Right when we had escaped, Karen and Joe moved us into a little house in the suburbs. They never told us where we had escaped _from_ , or how they knew about it. They just expected us to get on with life. We both had nightmares at the beginning."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Tony mumbled.

"I want to help you, Tony," she smiled slightly, "Dylan didn't like to talk about it, Karen and Joe _wouldn't_ talk about it and I was forbidden from mentioning it to my new friends. I had no one. I don't want you to be alone in this."

Tony didn't know what to say. Pepper had tried to help with his panic attacks, but she often just ended up annoyed. It wasn't her fault, she had never experienced something that traumatizing and so couldn't help him. Lexy knew, and she wasn't going to force him to do anything, like talk or go to therapy. She was just there, always.

"I know," he started, his throat tight, "I know I've been… Not great. I keep making the wrong decisions and saying the wrong things and I know that, but… I'm sorry. There's a lot of pressure - on all of us - and I make rash decisions when I'm under pressure. I don't want you to leave."

Alexia leaned in and wrapped both arms around his muscular torso.

"I'm not planning on it."

* * *

They stayed in that position for a while, each lost in worries of what the other had gone through before turning to their own problems. Alexia remembered vividly - for the first time in years - the process of her escape. Waking up in a room with no paint or wallpaper, finding the door open and her only friend standing on the threshold, others hovering anxiously behind him.

"Lexy," Dylan whispered quietly, "We're leaving. For good."

The giddy anticipation in his voice mixed with the slight panic caused the small girl's brow to furrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"They've come to help us escape," he could barely contain his excitement as he stepped aside for an older couple.

They had soft, knowing smiles plastered to their faces. On reflection, their grins were not the kind that one would expect from a hero intent on saving others. They hid knowledge and a sick sense of relief. However, young Alexia began to beam, grabbing Dylan's open hand as they continued their journey. Most of the kids were already in the group, following the two benevolent leaders.

However, there were a few missing. Alexia was quick to remember one significant that hadn't yet been picked up.

"Dylan," she muttered, tugging his sleeve gently, "We need to go back for Lacey."

The boy hesitated before nodded.

"Ma'am," he spoke up, racing ahead slightly, "There's someone else we need to save."

"Who? What powers?" Karen asked quickly.

Dylan explained as Lexy fell back, watching worriedly as the alarms along the corridor blared.

"We're picking her up on the way out," Dylan panted as he returned, "Come on, Lexy, we have to move faster."

The patrols were far behind them, but shouts, barks and orders could still be heard. They quickened their pace and finally arrived at a locked door. The sign engraved above it read 'Lassandra' and Alexia thought back to the previous year when her and the younger redhead had become friends. Lacey had denounced the name, explaining how her parents called her 'Lacey' anyway, so the elongation of it was redundant. Well, maybe not in those words…

They unlocked the door to see the pale-skinned girl sitting upright on the bed. Her eyes widened at the two adults.

"What's going on?" she murmured.

"Lacey, we're getting out!" Alexia squealed, "These people are going to help us, but we need to go now."

Lacey stared at her friend for a moment, a range of emotions flashing in her eyes. Eventually, the 10 year old nodded and followed the group into the corridor. The guards had almost caught up with them and most of the kids had already charged off. Dylan glanced at Lexy to ensure that she was keeping up. The two girls were holding onto each other, almost at the back of the small crowd. The teenage boy beside them was the first to be shot down, and caused Lacey to shriek as tears glistened on her friend's cheeks. Two others fell before a stray shot lodged itself into the younger girl's leg. Immediately, she tripped, crashing onto the ground with a sickening thud. Alexia was almost pulled down with her, but Dylan had fallen back and yanked his almost-sister out of harm's way, forcing her forward.

A boy stared down at Lacey from his position in his cell. Lexy called out for her, but instinctively knew that she had to keep moving.

Alexia gasped with a start, clutching Tony's arm a little tighter. He turned to her swiftly.

"I know who Anthuria and Red Techno are," she decided steadily, "They work for the Familia."

 **Dun dun DUUUH. Well, we already knew so... Not so much. Still, now they know! Anyway, hope you enjoyed, review if you did! Or didn't. Please, just review. :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello! So glad it's a leap year so I can pretend that this wasn't a really late update. Not my best work, imo, and, again, sorry about the length, but I'm kinda busy with school work, volunteering, my friend's forcing me to go to the gym twice a week etc.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters, only my OCs.**

 **Chapter 26 - Rescue**

Paige had been gnawing barbarously at the ropes limiting her wrists for hours. Or maybe days. Her weak, tired, pained teeth slowly weakening the dry ties whenever she was left alone with Bruce. There was little left now. But Paige was scared.

There was almost no warning for when Dylan or one of his parents would waltz in and start taunting her, checking to see how dead her companion was. There was also no visible exit in the room. The dirt-encrusted, opaque windows, all three of them, were too high for her to reach and the one door was heavy, metal and most likely locked from the outside. There was a small hole in one of the walls, in which Paige had watched rats cheerfully skip through, but, even in her malnourished and skinny state, she doubted she would fit.

Overpowering one of her captors was not an option, but maybe there was something else. Dylan had been twitchy in every visit, no matter how harsh his words or how confident his saunter. The brunette suspected that he could easily be pushed into a panic.

"So, does everyone know the plan?" Steve repeated.

"Yes, Captain," Alexia smiled wearily, "I think everyone had it memorised by the fifth time you'd explained."

"Right," the blonde nodded stiffly, "It's the fifth building from-"

"We know!" Tony exclaimed, exasperated.

"Ok," the Avenger agreed, "Black Widow is going in firs-"

"You know what? Let's do it before our glorious leader can reiterate the plan again," Tony groaned.

"Lady Natasha," Thor announced, "Let us lead the assault on our enemies together!"

The redhead nodded, a small smirk playing at her mouth as she lay a hand to rest on a gun holster. They both advanced swiftly, Nat leaping from the roof with effortless grace as Thor shot off with Mjolnir.

"Right, Iron-"

"Lexy, you up for a little ride?" Tony was grinning from beneath the mask, the elemental could tell.

"When am I not?" she replied, moving into his cold, metal arms.

They were off the ground and into the air before Steve could breathe another word.

"And now it's my turn," he sighed.

The door twisted open. Paige was already falling as the handle turned and racing with agonized feet as it shifted open. To her immense relief, it was indeed Dylan who strolled in. She slammed her weight as quietly as possible against the wall behind the metal frame. He was whistling, but it halted abruptly when his eyes spotted the empty space where his prisoner should have been.

She could barely see him, his arm wavering between the line of her vision and its position behind the door.

"Oh no," he whispered, "No, no, no, no."

He stepped forward slightly as he clenched and unclenched a pale fist. He inspected her frayed ropes.

"This is bad," the maniac continued quietly, "I have to tell… I have to…"

He burst into a run and sprinted desperately down the corridor. Paige breathed heavily for a moment. This was her opportunity. She waited until his footsteps were echoing faintly before following the man. Her sides ached and the soft pitter-patter of her weak feet against the smooth floor was pounding in her ears, but the assistant dare not stop. The maze of hallways finally led to a large room, the front of the building. Luckily, she hadn't passed anyone, or at least if she had, they had been securely enclosed behind one of the many doors littering the structure.

Paige hobbled quickly through the front door, which, along with the wall it belonged to, was glass. She was in an area that she didn't recognize, as abandoned as the overgrown jail cell behind her. The street was untouched and looked as if a small natural disaster had struck, with a few cars pointing at odd angles and several pavestones in the sidewalk upturned.

"Paige?" a soft voice called.

The woman looked up and met the wide, anxious eyes of her best friend, who stood on the road a little way away. Iron Man was hovering above her.

"Lexy," she whispered, feeling tears slide down her sickly pale cheeks, "He's in there. They all are. I want to go home."

The Siren spoke quietly with the metal superhero. Eventually, he lowered to the ground as well, hand by his ear as he muttered more instructions. Alexia hurried to Paige's side and held her up, all adrenaline dissipating at the idea of safety.

"I'm taking you back, now," the heroine consoled soothingly, "You're safe."

* * *

Maria, who had seemingly regained her composure and moved into an expensive hotel room in a high class area of Manhattan, was beyond furious. The two before her sat with peaceful smirks on her new couch, as if having achieved something.

"You have done nothing," she snarled, clenching and unclenching a manicured, powerful fist.

"That's not true," Red Techno replied, confident as ever, "We met them."

"Oh I am so sorry," the woman continued in a higher-than-usual pitch, "You met them, that is true, and you fought, as you were supposed to, but what I am angry at is the severe lack of results."

"What Red means to say," Anthuria continued calmly, "Is that, through meeting them, we have learnt some weaknesses. We now know how to attack."

"And whom," her fellow supervillain grinned maliciously.

"Half of the Avengers were at your feet. You could have continued, and most likely won. They have now found their missing secret weapon, the Hulk, who you have no experience with and who would have died in the hands of his mysterious captors. Your job is now twice as hard," Maria scolded with an acidic hiss.

Anthuria's eyes widened slightly. She had met the Hulk once before, by chance. He, like the Viking God, was immune to her poison, and he had no links to technology, metal or electricity, as far as they knew. He would be a tough challenge indeed.

"We'll find a way," Red assured, shifting slightly in his expensive seat, "We always do."

* * *

The Familia's hideout was usually a quiet place. Members would keep to their rooms or jobs when there wasn't a meeting, which was often the only time they wore masks. This was relieving for Elliot. No one wondered the halls without reason, everyone had a responsibility or hobby to attend to. Therefore, when a heavily-grunting Elise needed to be transported to somewhere safer and less incriminating than her medical room, it was surprisingly easy not to be caught.

Elise stuck to his side as if she was chained to him. Her appearance had not improved since her attack on Santoya, but she was growling slightly less and her unnerving eye color had dimmed. They stuck to the walls, not allowing their shadows to dance around the corridors in the fear that it would draw more attention to their predicament. They passed one person, who was wearing a spotted lizard mask and hurrying towards the Dux's quarters. He nodded at the two, but Elliot ignored him, continuing to hold his sister tightly.

"Elliot," she whispered hoarsely, "Where are we going?"

"We need to get you somewhere safe," he muttered, "We can reverse this, whatever it is."

"I… I don't want to," Elise managed, "I like this. I am stronger now."

Elliot paused and glanced down at his slumped sister. She looked up with wide, unnatural eyes.

"This is bad, Elise," he argued softly, "You can't kill people, especially not in the way you did. It's bad."

"The Familia has killed thousands," Elise countered, "It is only efficient. Please, Elliot, I don't want to go back to what I was. I am happy now."

The older Javier stared at her. It was true, that her breath was no longer hitched when she walked, her words were no longer hesitant and small, her appearnace and movements no longer irradiated weakness. Despite the ragged, savage grunting and physical differences, Elise did seem altogether better. She was stronger now.

"You're right," he agreed quietly, "But we can't stay here. They won't accept you, and if they find out what I did to help you, we're both dead."

"What did you do?" Elise didn't seem worried, more curious.

"It doesn't matter now, but I know someone who can help us. She will help us," he assured confidently.

The girl nodded, clinging to her brother happily.

 **So yeah, Elliot and Elise are pretty insane at this point, nothing ever seems to go well for Maria and Bruce and Paige are finally saved, though what will happen to the remains of the Brookes family is yet to be seen...**

 **Next update will hopefully be in March. I'm writing another Avengers fanfic (Tony Stark x OC again) but it's a High School AU, mainly inspired ny my increased addiction to 'Avengers Academy' (the app). Anywho, I probably won't be uploading it anytime soon but if you like the sound of it, there's that to look forward to as well.**


	27. Chapter 27

**So I'll add the first chapter to Chapter 23 (where it belongs) but I'll leave it here for anyone who can't be bothered to find it again.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything Marvel**

 **Chapter 27 - Great Work, Team**

 **(Days prior. Warning! Some images of gore. There is a brief explanation at the end if you don't want to read it.)  
**

Panting heavily, Elliot raced through the halls of the hideout, footsteps clapping against the floor as he skidded yet another corner. The plant was held precariously with both palms, it's violet petals were drooping unhappily. When he finally reached the room he had been seeking, the Javier threw the door open with one hand and began to shout hoarsely.

"Dr Santoya, I have it!" he exclaimed at the man, who was bent over the bed with alert eyes.

He returned to his full height and examined the boy at the threshold. Swiftly, the doctor approached, relieving Elliot of the plant and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I will take the pollen to make a medicine. I suppose that is how your parents intended to use it?" he questioned seriously.

The boy had no idea how the plant was to be used, so he shrugged and nodded helplessly. The man, who's pale skin and darkly circled eyes gave away his own ill health, surveyed the shaking French quickly.

"Take a seat next to your sister," he instructed quietly, "Get some rest before I return."

Again, Elliot nodded. Santoya darted out of the room with the plant hastily and the blonde advanced to his restless sister's bedside, slumping into the empty chair. Elise was thrashing about, arms, legs, neck, hands, face all spasming sporadically, her eyes squeezed shut in pain. He wanted to comfort her, but he hadn't slept in so long, and she couldn't hear him anyway. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, Dr Santoya was back, shaking his forearm gently and holding a small bottle of light purple liquid.

"Elliot? I thought you'd want to be awake for the results," the doctor explained briefly.

Without waiting for a reply, Santoya turned back to his patient, gently scooping her writhing head in one smooth, cupped hand and tipping the bottle towards her dry mouth with the other. At first, the barely-conscious girl resisted the drink, but slowly, her lips parted. When every drop had vanished, Santoya sat back, breathing a sigh of finality. Either there would be improvement, or the girl was lost. Elise lay back, no longer moving at all, though her chest still heaved slightly. Eventually, even that began to cease. Elliot was frozen, staring with wide, hopeful eyes. Minutes passed with no change and the doctor sighed again.

"I'm sorry, Elliot," he murmured, "There is nothing more to do."

"But… It was supposed to save her!" the last Javier argued with a single tear in his eye,

"The plant… Maybe it takes time to work!"

Santota lowered his eyes.

"We shall wait, then," he said lowly, "Why don't you replace the cloth? To keep her temperature down."

Elliot nodded sharply, standing on weak legs and snatching the drying flannel draped over the pale girl's forehead. He raced out of the room and through the adjacent doorway, then dropped the item into the slightly dirtied sink and twisted the handle. The cool, clear water splatted against the rag and Elliot tapped his foot arrhythmically against linoleum. There was some noise that made him swivel to face the corridor and the room past it: a meek shout, a thump and an uncomfortable shredding sound, softened by the closed door. Elliot clawed at the renewed cloth, roughly disrupted the flow of water and stumbled forward, blinded by the euphoria of certainty that his sister was alive and better. He thrust the door open, barely noticing its sudden strain, but his smile dropped at the sight of the room.

"Elise…"

The girl was crouched, cowering in the corner made by her bed and the wall, her face hidden from her brother. Between them was a sickening sight, one that Elliot would never rid from his mind. The hard floor was stained by a spreading pool of crimson water, which centered around a barely recognizable body. Dr Santoya was no longer whole, and was definitely dead. The parts of him that were missing had been flung in all directions. Elliot wanted to vomit.

"Elise, what did you do?" he whispered, shaking violently.

Seemingly, the girl heard him this time, and turned quickly. Her brother's mouth opened and he gasped briskly. Her eyes were lined with red as they had been before, but now the gap between the circle of raw red was filled with a shocking violet. Her hair hung greasily around her pasty face, some damp locks lumped together with blood, the same blood that was smeared across her chin and around her mouth. She smiled weakly at him.

"Elliot?" she greeted with hope and admiration, "You came to save me?"

 **(For anyone who didn't read due to the slight gore, basically, the plant has turned Elise savage. At least she's cured, right? Right?)**

* * *

"So, here's what we know," Clint started professionally.

They all sat, cramped, in the archer's hospital room. Paige was hidden under a mound of blankets on her own bed, with Alexia perched beside her and Tony standing behind them both, Thor was sitting in one of the too-small, uncomfortable plastic chairs, which looked even smaller due to his superior size, Clint had recovered enough to walk with crutches and was therefore springing around the room at every available moment and Steve and Natasha were sitting on his bed. Bruce had been given a private room seeing as not even S.H.I.E.L.D knew what reaction he would have when waking up. Paige had tried to insist that she stayed with him, but her own exhaustion had gotten the best of her.

"Lexy's family went psycho and now we have Dylan is custody but his parents somehow escaped," Barton listed, slowly pacing the length of the room, "The Familia, including our dear old friend Maria, has sent two Enhanced our way, created in the same way as our own Siren, Bruce is still unresponsive, I still can't fight, Paige is traumatized for life and the Iron Man suit is easily compromised by-"

"I'm working on it," Tony grumbled.

"No, really, great work team!" Clint continued sarcastically.

"Shut up, Clint," Natasha sighed.

"At least we saved Paige and Bruce," Lexy argued quietly.

"But we're no closer to defeating the Familia or your parents," Steve added.

"Dylan will lead us to them," Tony assured, "And, as soon as Bruce is better, we'll have more arsenal against the Familia as well."

"If he gets better," Clint corrected.

"Clint!" Lexy scolded quietly.

"Well, what is there to say?" the archer retorted, "This really isn't going too well for us, is it? And it doesn't look like it'll get much better any time soon!"

"We're trying our best, alright?" Tony snarled.

"So are they, and guess who's winning?" Barton grumbled.

At that moment, Agent Hill strode in, arms crossed.

"SHIELD is working on an antidote for Anthuria's poison, but it'll take a few days," she announced, "The other one, Red Techno, seems to have similar powers to another supervillain we know about, so we have a consultant that might be able to help, if you need it. There's no word about the Brookes' escape yet, so they may still be in the country."

"Thanks, Hill," Natasha muttered.

"I know that things aren't looking good, guys, but this was a win, and I'm sure it'll be the first of several. They just caught us off-guard," the agent assured, letting the door slide shut behind her before they could reply.

* * *

Being locked up at the base of a valley surrounded by an ominous mountain range with a bunch of other wealthy conspirators hadn't seemed like a bad idea for his dead relatives those many decades ago. Maybe Francis Ainsworth was missing some crucial pro to the situation, or maybe they had been as insane as the British media of the time had determined, but the man was certain that, whatever they had decided, had not been the right choice. The Familia was currently in a state of mayhem, and, after being relocated a while back due to the Javiers' mistakes, there was less cover to hide beneath. Now they were on an island. What a great idea of Sanguine's.

"Ainsworth, the Dux wants you on perimeter control, now," Kurosawa was barking as they rushed up the steps from the archives.

The Englishman had been enjoying a well-deserved nap on the job when the Familia member had burst in, sending waves of deep vibrations through the haphazardly-stacked book piles. Francis had awoken with a snort and demanded an explanation. What he heard made his eyes widen from behind the brown bear mask he wore.

"Elise and Elliot are missing. The remains of Dr Santoya was found in the Javier girl's room," the man panted.

"Remains?"

"He is dead. Utterly… There's nothing left except a mess, all over the floor. The Dux thinks that they are in danger, everyone is on high alert."

"And why did you come bursting in here to tell me this?"

"Because the Dux Prioris wants to talk to you. It's important," the member finished, catching his breath.

Francis stood up in defeat, knowing that there was no opposing the Dux Prioris.

* * *

"Alexia!" Paige shrieked, sitting upright so suddenly that Clint almost slipped from his position on the crutches and Tony dropped the book he had been browsing through.

The only one not to jump was Natasha, who slid to the panicking woman's side immediately.

"Paige? Can you hear me?" she muttered immediately, "You're safe. You're at SHIELD. Alexia will be back in a moment."

"I need Lexy," Paige whimpered, "Where is she?"

Fortunately, it was at that moment that the doors slid open and Brookes stepped in, eyes widening at her awakened friend. She was at her side in an instant, a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder and another running through her hair.

"Oh my God, Paige, are you ok?" she breathed, "Stupid question, you obviously aren't. Hey, it's fine, you're safe now, I'm here, they can't hurt you."

Paige was sobbing uncontrollably into Lexy's top and jacket. Natasha leaned back a little, ensuring that the woman wasn't too crowded.

"Wh-where's Bruce?" Paige asked, "Where is he? I n-need to see him. Lexy, is he-?"

"Bruce is… Bruce is fine. He just needs to rest. So do you, Paige," Alexia continued softly,

"Everything is ok now. No one can hurt you, everyone is here to help."

Eventually, the hyperventilating slowed and the assistant was able to take somewhat normal breaths. She relaxed into Lexy's secure grip, returning to her horizontal position on the bed and sniffling quietly. Tony rubbed Alexia's back encouragingly as she continued to console and hush her best friend, lulling her back into sleep.

 **Hope you enjoyed! If you did, follow, favourite and/or leave a review. Sorry for the sort of abrupt ending AGAIN  
**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hi so I was supposed to upload this like two days ago... Sorry. Also, April didn't have a chapter because writer's block and it was my birthday. I thibk this chapter is a little bit choppy so it's not my best but I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel stuff.**

 **Chapter 28 - Hell at the Helicarrier**

Paige was restless whenever she slept, and cried whenever she woke. Once awake, the woman would barely speak, especially if not directly spoken to, and ate the minimum amount that Alexia would force her to.

But she listened to what the Avengers spoke about. When they planned strategies and mentioned training, her ears would prick and her eyes would dart up. When Paige spoke up without verbal incentive, it was always to ask how Bruce was doing. The answer of which was not well.

Bruce constantly alternated between an unconscious, limp, unreactive state, in which the doctors that managed him always became anxious as to whether or not he was even alive, and wide awake, writhing and panting heavily in a desperate attempt to keep the Hulk within him. He couldn't speak, but he saw the Avengers when they entered. The doctors had been certain that the only thing they could do was keep him in a secure, confined environment and wait it out. The chemicals pumped into his bloodstream had mostly been cleared, but only Bruce could fight off whatever they had been doing to him.

Dylan had been interrogated. Alexia had offered to do it, but it had ended with Steve and a SHIELD agent doing it. He explained voluntarily what they had been doing and why, but left out details such as where his parents were. There had been no news on Maria, or the Familia, since Paige's awakening.

It was night. Alexia was laying beside Paige, above the blanket. Clint was asleep, muttering something about a farm. Tony was almost sleeping, but his hand was tapping against the side of his chair and his eyelids occasionally opened. Steve was out of the room, probably in the nearest training centre or gym. Natasha was awake, sitting on Clint's bed. Paige was quiet, but Lexy didn't make the mistake of thinking she was dormant. Thor was probably with Cap, wherever he was.

"Lexy," Paige breathed sleepily, "What are we going to do?"

The question had been asked by plenty of agents and team members over the last few days, but Alexia wished she knew the answer more than ever.

"I don't know, Paige," she sighed softly.

"I'm glad I'm on your side," the woman continued, nestling further into her bed.

Lexy didn't have a reply for that. Her friend would wake up again in a few hours, crying and screaming, but she didn't have the heart to keep the exhausted brunette awake.

* * *

The next afternoon, Fury marched in, followed by a familiar face and a girl of the same age. They both looked sombre.

"Stark, Brookes, I think you know this kid," he announced, "For the rest of you, this is Elliot Javier, member of the Familia."

"Former member," Elliot corrected in a small voice, "This is my sister, Elise."

The girl looked like she'd be beautiful if it weren't for the greasy hair, sunken skin and shocking violet irises. She examined each of them with a defensive glower. There was something in her dark blonde hair, but nobody commented on it.

"We came back to help… And… In return for help for Elise," he declared weakly.

"What happened?" Alexia questioned.

"The plant saved her," he hesitated, "But it had some bad side effects."

As if to prove his point, the girl snarled slightly under her breath. The Avengers watched silently.

"We know the coordinates of the Familia's base. We know every member and their masks."

"Masks?" Steve repeated uncertainly.

Paige and Lexy shared a look.

"Every member chooses an animal when they turn 15. A mask is made of their animal and they must wear it to every meeting. It is a symbol of what they offer the Familia, and used to keep the meetings anonymous, in case anyone was watching."

"What was the animal of your choice?" Thor queried.

Elliot looked slightly embarrassed, but cracked a small smile.

"The rat. It is a symbol of resourcefulness, preparation and shrewdness," he defended the animal carefully, "They get themselves out of situations. I hoped to do the same for the Familia. Unfortunately, it seems I have done the opposite."

There was a moment of quiet.

"Elise chose the mouse, for determination and conservation, though most of the Familia see it more as connoting her cleanliness and innocence."

Clint snorted.

"Cleanliness and innocence? A mouse?"

"It is a common misconception that mice are filthy," Elliot was protectively holding Elise's arm now. Though she looked ready to pounce.

"Enough with the chitchat," Fury interrupted, "What's wrong with your sister and how can we help you?"

"She… Um…"

"Elliot, what's wrong with her?" Alexia repeated gently.

"You have to promise not to hurt her, first," he decided, "She hasn't done anything wrong on purpose, it wasn't her fault!"

"We promise," Steve agreed steadily, "Now, tell us what happened."

Elliot took a deep breath, eyes flitting to Elise at every possible moment.

"We were - I was given the plant by a Stark Industries employee," he began, "So, immediately, I returned to the Familia."

"How _did_ you get in and out of America undetected?" Natasha asked curiously.

"The Familia has allies everywhere," Elise muttered hoarsely, inspecting a vase of flowers beside her.

"Anyway, I gave Dr San- our doctor the plant and he was able to give it to her safely. For a moment, my Elise was dead. The doctor told me to refresh the wet cloth on her forehead and… When I returned, Elise had… The doctor was dead, i-in pieces, even. Elise was in the corner. She looked dead, except for eyes."

"Her eyes?" Tony pressed.

"She used to have brown eyes," he explained.

"Ultraviolent mutant created from a mysterious plant? You came to the right place," Clint snorted.

"She's not a mutant," Elliot argued weakly, eyeing the girl.

"We'll help," Tony decided, "Although, technically, you already agreed to tell us everything."

"I said I'd help you when you cured my sister. She is not yet cured," he replied.

Alexia could've argued that she had been cured of her original ailment, but the two looked defensive enough as it was.

"I have a friend - she's a scientist. She might be able to help," Tony continued.

"In the meantime, why don't you tell one of my agents what you know?" Fury suggested, motioning to the door with one hand.

Elliot was hesitant, but reached for Elise's hand and coaxed her into following him. They left.

"That's a lead," Natasha commented, "We know where the Familia are. Maybe we can get them to give up Maria and the two Enhanced."

"SHIELD will take care of this," Lexy said, "The Familia can't be too dangerous with their strongest weapons in the field. We should focus on finding Albertelli and Dylan's parents. Fury will tell us if they get anything."

"How do we find them? If the satellite surveillance hasn't found them yet, then I don't expect that we can catch them until they want us to," Steve sighed.

"We know Maria and her team are in the city. The Brookes probably fled the country-" Clint began.

"No," Natasha interrupted, "They have their 'mission' or whatever they call it. If Dylan is any indication, they won't stop just because we found Bruce and Paige. If they're not still in the city, they'll be in the state at least."

Paige was silent.

"I'll work on it," Tony offered, "I'm sure SHIELD doctors can fix the French girl."

* * *

Apparently, it was easier than Tony had expected to make a way to find them. He was planning to use the chemicals that Anthuria released to track their location. He had built several of the devices easily, sent a few SHIELD rookies to drive around the city with them and visited the scientists working on Bruce's recovery. He was surprised to find Paige up and about, already leaning against the window and watching the struggling, green-tinted scientist, strapped to a metal slab in a small, round room.

"I didn't know the doc was planning to let you out of bed anytime soon," he commented, hands in pockets.

She flinched and turned, hazel eyes softening when they met his form.

"I whined to Alexia to let me see him. She agreed as long as she could come along as well," she smiled weakly.

"Where's Lexy, then?"

"Hey Tony," the brunette greeted from behind him.

He smirked and turned, slipping a hand to the small of her back as his girlfriend reached his side and grabbed his shoulder. Alexia reached and kissed his cheek swiftly, before turning to Paige again.

"Have you asked the scientist yet?" she asked.

The assistant shook her head.

"He's checking on Bruce now. I'll ask him when he comes back."

"You want to talk to Banner?" Stark raised an eyebrow.

"I just want to help him," Paige said.

"Good luck with that. Anyway, I solved the whole Maria and Dynamic Duo problem. Or I will have, in a few hours."

"How?"

"Got some SHIELD lackeys to track Anthuria's poison. At least they're finally getting something done."

"Bravo," Paige congratulated and would've continued, had a lab-coat-ed man not chosen that moment to enter the room, "Oh, Dr Byrnes! I had a question."

The man glanced up at the three and smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry, Miss Seath, but there haven't been any changes since-"

"Um, that's not it, Doctor. I wanted to ask if I could… Talk to Bruce?"

Byrnes was slightly taken aback, and blinked over wide eyes before recovering.

"Miss Seath, you know that he won't be able to listen, or speak back?"

She nodded, eyes glassy. He sighed.

"Be my guest," he agreed finally, "Just don't get too close. I'll assign an agent to stay by the door, in case anything happens."

"Do you want me to stay?" Lexy asked tentatively.

"It's fine. I want to talk to him alone," Paige smiled.

"We'll go back to the hospital room, then," Tony tugged at Alexia's arm, guiding her away gently.

As soon as they were out of sight, Paige turned to the doctor again.

"Can I go in, now?"

* * *

"I went to the market and I bought a pen, a repulser, a battery, a pear, a shield, a bow, a pistol, the Avengers Tower, a spider, a bird, a banner, a helmet and… a catsuit," Natasha recited flawlessly.

"I went to the market and I bought a…" Clint struggled, "Yeah, ok, Nat wins."

"C'mon Barton! I could've easily beaten that!" Tony whined with a playful smirk.

"We don't like playing memory games with geniuses and superspies," Steve defended with a grin.

Tony's phone beeped loudly before anyone could retort. He glanced at it and smirked.

"Well, you won't have to anymore. We've found Toxic and Sparky."

The Avengers immediately sprang into action, including Clint, who had finally been given permission to be out in the field, though at a distance from the obvious threats. They were off of the Helicarrier and into the jet before the agents around them knew what was happening.

"Where exactly are we heading, Tony?" Steve asked.

"Bunch of abandoned warehouses. Perfect meeting place, right?" he chuckled, "And I can't wait to wreck the place."

"Have you had a bad day, Anthony?" Thor guessed.

"No, but the buildings are under Justin Hammer's name," Tony explained. The group murmured in understanding.

"So, have we got a plan of action?" Natasha questioned.

"Keep Lexy and Tony away from Techno, Steve and you away from Anthuria and me away from everyone," Clint remembered from the strategies everyone had devised around his bed. Despite his teasing tone, the team could tell that he was excited to be out of the stuffy ward room.

"I've been trying to improve the armour, you know, so he can't pull it off. Best I've found is a predominant form of cyanoacrylate-"

"It's like scientific superglue," Alexia translated helpfully.

"Man, I miss Bruce," the engineer rolled his eyes.

There was a moment of silence.

"Let us win victory in honour of our struggling shield brother," Thor exclaimed.

Lexy nodded, itching to drown something.

 **So there ya go. Finally met up again with Elliot and ready to kick some crazy-foster-parent butt! Please review and follow/favourite if you enjoyed.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Heyyyyyyy, happy new years! Sorry about the... Long wait... Anyway! On with the next chapter..**

 **Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot, everything else is Marvel's.**

 **Chapter 29 - Another Capture and a Visit**

"Ainsworth!" a Russian voice rang out, "The Familia's hideout has been discovered. We are preparing to depart."

The Englishman turned. He'd been stationed on the farthest side of the island, as he was a terrible fighter and a good runner, in case he caught sight of Elliot and Elise or, more likely, the two led someone else here. Ainsworth had been sitting on a large, rather comfortable tree stump after his talk with the Dux Prioris. It had been an enlightening discussion.

"Who is 'we'?" he countered.

* * *

Two figures were sat, cross-legged, facing each other on a pair of dusty, flattened boxes. They were grinning at each other, each holding a pair of chopsticks. The man's smile faltered as the woman opposite took a bite from the Chinese-cooked duck she was holding.

"Hey, Annie, do you think we'll ever move on?" he asked tentatively. She glanced at him with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, move on from… Working with the Familia? Doing something different!" he explained hesitantly.

"No," Annie replied immediately, "That's our only purpose, Red. You know that. What would we do, anyway?"

He shrugged and fell silent.

"I haven't heard from the Familia in a while, actually. Albertelli has been sending the occasional update, but nothing from the Dux," she pondered, "Maybe we should-"

At that moment, the roof of the warehouse caved in. Anthuria was on her feet in a second, whereas Red Techno had let out a high-pitched squeal and scrambled to the wall. When the dust cleared, they weren't surprised to see the Avengers, lined up, weapons pointed solely at the duo.

"The more the merrier," Anthuria growled, green mist spewing from her mouth as she spoke.

However, before it could travel anywhere, a pool of water was dumped on the redhead. The gas turned the water a mild shade of green, but was soon splattered against the floor anyway. Lexy looked anxious, despite the feat. Red Techno glared and a bolt of electricity was sent in her direction. Thor began to swing his hammer, a tactic that they were unsure about using, seeing as it had about a 50/50 chance of working. Fortunately, it did exactly as they hoped, and Red Techno's bolt was pulled out of the air towards the circling weapon, giving it an extra boost of electrical energy. He then sent it flying at the soaking supervillain, who dodged.

Natasha and Clint, from the back, turned their attention to Red Techno, firing bullet and arrow after bullet and arrow. He was too busy avoiding their attacks to try one of his own. The Siren and Iron Man were hitting Anthuria with everything they had, and she was struggling to keep up. Apparently the mist couldn't penetrate Tony's armor and had little to no effect on Lexy as long as she had a thin layer of water shimmering around her head. Steve joined Nat and Clint.

It seemed for a good solid few minutes that the battle would be over quickly, with the Avengers as the obvious winners. And then the sound of a bullet, unlike any of Nat's, sounded, and Steve fell to the ground, clutching his thigh. Everyone stopped fighting momentarily as Lexy skidded to the man's side - though their allowing positions over their opponents lasted less than a few seconds. He was groaning in anguish, and she glanced down to see a wound oozing blood.

"He needs to get back to SHIELD right now," she announced.

Red Techno was already smashing through a window, but Iron Man caught his partner by the arm. Anthuria immediately began to struggle, but Hawkeye sent a dart into her shoulder and her strength quickly faded until she was sucked into unconsciousness.

* * *

"At least I'm not the bed-ridden one this time," Clint remarked as the stood around Steve's hospital bed.

"Shut up, Barton," Tony, Natasha and, despite his state, Steve.

"Did anyone see who it was?" Alexia questioned.

"Isn't it obvious? Maria did it," Tony answered, "She's the only one who would want to help those two."

"Not necessarily," Natasha argued, "There could be another of their kind that the Familia decided not to send at first. Or it could be the Brookes, they'd take any opportunity to attempt to kill one of us."

Fury marched in as the spy finished, hands behind his back and leather coat and eye patch looking as they had the first time Lexy had met the director.

"Anthuria's being held in one of our most secure cells. After the last time we tried holding an important criminal within the Helicarrier," he glanced momentarily at Thor, "We are now adding extra security to our borders, engines and turbines."

"Have you raided the Familia's hideout yet?" Paige added quietly from the corner.

"It's… Bigger than we expected. We're being tactful and forming a strategy. In other news, Dr Cho has arrived to help with the Javier kid."

Alexia had heard of Helen Cho, but only through scientific connections. They'd never met. Lexy was quite excited to meet the scientist and discuss her new technology.

"Good. I think I'd better greet her. I also really want out of this medical bay," Tony admitted, "Where is she?"

Fury smirked.

"Four doors down."

Tony cursed under his breath and Steve looked slightly disgruntled by it.

"I'll come with you," Lexy decided.

The two headed down the hall and into a room that had a lot more tech than theirs. In the middle of it were Elliot and Elise, looking as savage as ever, and a pretty Asian woman. She smiled at the sight of Tony.

"Tony Stark," she greeted, "Haven't seen you in a while."

Almost unconsciously, Lexy entangled her fingers between his. The woman noticed this and looked surprised, but not disappointed.

"And you must be Alexia Brookes," she continued, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Helen Cho."

Maybe it was the presence of one of her heroes, maybe it was how Helen seemed completely unbothered by their relationship, but all potential jealousy melted away as she squeaked slightly.

"Hi, Dr Cho, it really is a pleasure, I've been following your work on the creation, replication and reproduction of human tissue and-"

"Slow down there, Lexy," Tony laughed, "You two can compare notes later, but let's not forget the reason that the good doctor is here."

"Miss Javier has so far refused to take part in any kind of scan," Cho sent a pointed look at the girl, "But I'm sure Mr Javier and I can convince her - or at least find a suitable alternative. It would be very helpfully to also have a sample of the plant, if Stark Industries can oblige."

"I'm sure we can. If you call Pep - Miss Potts then she can, erm, settle that for you."

"Thanks Tony," Dr Cho grinned, pulling a high tech phone from her pocket and tapping quickly.

"If you wouldn't mind, Helen, while you're here," Tony smiled sheepishly, "There is another case that we'd be grateful for you to look at. Bruce is having a bit of a problem with his big green buddy thanks to drugs forced into his system. We plan to wait until it passes, but if you could just make sure it isn't anything too serious…"

"Of course, I think I owe Dr Banner a favour or two anyway," she agreed.

"We'd better be off then," Alexia smiled as a buzz sounded from her own phone, "It was really great meeting you, Dr Cho!"

"Please, call me Helen," the scientist grinned.

Alexia flushed slightly and quietly repeated the name, backing slowly out of the room until Tony tugged at her sleeve in an attempt to hurry her. He chuckled as the door closed.

"Shut up," she slapped his arm playfully, "I'm sure you've been like that with _someone_ before."

"Nope," he replied, "I'm too awesome for that kind of behavior."

Lexy snorted.

"Let's grab some lunch," Tony suggested.

"Sure, but could we visit someone else first?"

* * *

Paige was still too weak to walk for too long, or even stand for more than a few minutes, but something gave her strength for her mission. It was a hot, burning pile of raw emotion that fueled her, and a solid determination that released her from the suspicion of passing agents as she roamed the halls, though if they had spared her more than a moment's glance, they may have noticed her shaking legs and pale form. Finally, Paige reached her destination, having overhead it from her friends as they shared news. Two agents - a man and a woman - stood at the door, and turned to her as she stopped before them.

"No unauthorized visitors," the woman said.

"I am authorized," Paige retorted, feeling a smooth confidence hide her weakness, "The Siren allowed me."

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Well then, I'm sure she wouldn't mind coming with you to tell us that herself."

"She's kind of busy at the moment," Paige scowled, "Saving the world and all."

"We can't let you in with no proof of your authorization," the first agent shrugged.

Paige sighed with heavy exaggeration.

"Fine," she decided boldly, "I think I saw Director Fury a few corridors down. I'm sure he'll be proof enough."

The man looked suddenly worried, but was silent as Paige wandered back down the hall. The woman held strong. Paige took her time to slowly turn the corner, praying that her plan would work. Sneaking a peak at the agents, the second seemed about to break.

"Paige, what are you doing down here?"

The woman jumped, whipping her head around a little too quickly to find Natasha standing in front of her. Her vision blurred slightly.

"Nat!" she squeaked, clutching her head in one hand, "I was just - er -"

"Are you alright?" Worry laced the redhead's voice, but Paige was already recovering.

"I'm fine. I was just down here to… Um… Find Lexy," she lied quickly.

Natasha raised a perfect brow. They were in one of the more guarded sections of the Helicarrier. It was a surprise that the assistant was even down there at all, let alone looking for a woman who was probably still in the hospital wing. The spy thought what Paige could want from the area, and suddenly realized whose cell stood behind the corner.

"You're here to see Dylan, aren't you?" she assumed softly.

Paige's confidence was draining. Without a word, she gave a small nod. Natasha frowned. The woman before her had put in a lot of effort and strength to make it down there, and she had a right to see her former kidnapper, but Alexia wouldn't have allowed it, for Paige's own protection.

"You haven't spoken to Alexia about this," she assumed, to which Paige nodded again, "She wouldn't want you down here…"

But Natasha could understand what Paige was going through. She had a right to talk to him, and it might even provide some closure.

"But I'm not Alexia," she decided, "I'll let you in."

Together they turned the corner, and Paige approached the agents yet again. They seemed astonished that she had actually brought back a high level agent, instead of giving up on her plan.

"Agent Romanoff," the first agent greeted, "We didn't think that-"

"I've authorized Miss Seath's visit," Natasha replied shortly, "And as long as he is restrained, then she may go in alone."

Paige looked so thankful and relieved that it brightened up her faded features. The agents nodded, and the second unlocked the door with shaking hands. Paige entered slowly, adjusting to the dimmer light. The room was perfectly square, with a table and chair on one side, a bed on the other, and a single bulb hanging from the centre of the ceiling. On the floor beside the bed was an empty plate and cup. On the bed was a man that Paige easily recognized, his ankles chained to one of the legs of his seat, and his wrists separately strapped with a strong yet soft material to the wall.

Dylan looked horrible. His skin was pale and flakey in places, but his nose and eyes were red. He wore the grey jumpsuit of a prisoner of SHIELD, but his feet were bare. Paige couldn't imagine why, seeing as the floor was smooth metal, but didn't otherwise question the ideas of a maniac. His hair was unkempt and had grown slightly longer, almost reaching his shoulders. His eyes were quick and jumpy, and their bloodshot corners had grown, now nearing his irises.

"Hello Paige," he greeted pleasantly.

She tried to speak, but the words became lodged in her throat as tears welled beneath her eyelids. She gulped, and breathed deeply, before looking him straight in the eye.

"What is wrong with you?" she said in a hoarse whisper.

"Well, I'm a little bit hungry but-"

"I've known you since I was 13, you were one of my _friends_ for years! I trusted you," her voice grew louder and stronger with fury, "And you turn around and -and lock me up like some kind of _animal!_ "

His expression sobered slightly.

"We weren't planning to kill you," he muttered indignantly.

"I wish you had!" Paige almost shrieked, "I would have welcomed death if I'd known that the alternative was becoming a half-starved prisoner who could barely even sleep because of her neighbor, who could've died or lost control and _murdered me_ at any second! Do you know what that does to a person? Do you have any idea what you did to me?"

"It was for the best. You were a witness… And…. And the Avengers would come to save you. We just weren't as prepared as we thought…" he whispered, "It had to be done…"

"I don't know what the fuck your parents did to you, but there is nothing you can say or do anymore that could possibly make me forgive you," she hissed, clenching a fist, "I hope you rot in hell, or at least wherever SHIELD decides to send you."

Dylan looked suddenly lost, and stared with wide eyes as she walked out. Natasha was at her side as soon as the door was open. She noticed the spare tears that had rolled down her cheeks.

"Are you alright?" she questioned carefully.

"I'm better than I've been in a while, actually," she smiled, "Let's go back to my room."

 **Hope you enjoyed! I'll try and get another chapter out ASAP - kinda want to wrap it all up before 35. Have a great 2017 everyone!**


	30. Chapter 30

**We made it to 30! Big milestone, especially seeing as we're nearing the end now. I think I was pretty quick with this one, but that's mainly because I have an ulterior motive for uploading this chapter... I started a blog! I won't be uploading any new fan fictions or anything up there that won't be on here, but I will be using it as a more casual form of uploading original content and talking a bit more about myself, so if that at all interests you, the name is 'Fiction and Fries' and I'm using Blogger so the domain is at BlogSpot**

 **Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot to this tory, everything else is Marvel's.**

 **Chapter 30 - Takedown**

The room was like many in the wing - metal walls, metal floor, metal slab for a bed, and a basic toilet in the corner. Most of the cells, however, had a slate in the door that could be opened to allow entry of food. This one took every precaution, and so two gas masks hung on the outside of the door, and the frame was lined with some material to keep any possible fumes inside. The agent posted at the door moved aside as he saw Tony Stark and Alexia Brookes approach, and they entered as soon as their masks had been applied.

The woman on the bed was looking down and smirking slightly. She barely reacted to the opening and closing of the door. She looked surprisingly normal, though Alexia supposed that she hasn't been imprisoned for as long as some of SHIELD's other criminals.

"Hello, Lacey," Lexy greeted softly through the mask.

Anthuria's grin fell suddenly, and wide eyes shot up.

"What did you just call me?" she whispered.

"Lassandra Whitman," Tony expanded, "The name you used before-"

"No," the woman interrupted sharply, auburn hair half-hiding stormy eyes, "That's… That's not my name."

Alexia sighed quietly.

"Do you remember anything before the Familia, Lacey? Don't you remember your parents? Do you even remember me?"

Anthuria stared hard for a moment. She was trying to remember anything besides missions with Red Techo and time around the Familia. She vaguely remembered a group of other children, most older than herself, with pained expressions. One stood out most. A pair of bright green eyes and a warm smile in a cold room. Behind the modern design of SHIELD's gas masks, Lacey could almost make out the same green eyes.

She had spent so many years controlling her emotions, holding in pain, forgetting old memories. But it was suddenly all flooding back, and for the first time in a while she felt tears in her eyes. She had dedicated her life to an organization that had kidnapped and experimented on her.

"Lacey, please listen to me," Alexia continued, "You don't have to return to the Familia. We can help you get away from them, and get James out as well."

"James?" Lacey mumbled.

"James Miller, aka Red Techno," Tony added helpfully.

Memories were still flooding back. Breakfasts of runny porridge next to Lexy in a small, monotonous hall, talks with masked men about injections and dreams.

"Lacey, we can't help you if you don't tell us where James is, or where Maria is? The-"

One of the most prevalent memories began to play vividly. Her room's door opened, which didn't usually happen in the night, and several faces peered in at her, including two adult strangers. Closest, however, was Lexy, happier than she had ever been.

" _What's going on?_ " she had asked.

" _Lacey, we're getting out!"_ her best friend had replied.

But she was wrong. Alexia would escape, but Lacey would be shot in the leg. She would be left behind, left to suffer through more rigorous experiments, harsh punishments and, most importantly, left to face her uncertain future alone as the surviving children around her lasted in the brutal conditions no longer. Until there were no names anymore, no identities. Only Anthuria and Red Techno.

"I am not helping," she decided suddenly.

Alexia's speech trailed off.

"What?"

"You left me behind," Lacey hissed, "You left me to die. You never sent anyone back to get me. I'd bet you never gave a second thought after you'd escaped."

Lexy felt a surge of pain and defensiveness rise inside her.

"There was nothing I could do," she frowned, "If I'd have helped, I would've died! And Dylan and… They made me go!"

Tony placed a reassuring hand on the woman's shoulder. Lacey glared like a child, though the hatred it showed was deadly serious, and twisted to face away from the two.

"I'm not saying anything," she repeated.

Tony sighed, and tugged gently on Lexy's arm. She turned without a word, and they left the room, removing their masks as soon as the door was closed. Lexy's eyes were misty.

"I shouldn't have left her," she whispered.

Tony pulled her into a tight embrace.

"You didn't have a choice," he reminded her quietly.

* * *

"Has she responded at all to speech after her transformation?" Helen asked, notebook resting precariously on crossed legs.

Elliot and Elise, in a pair of handcuffs, sat on a pair of chairs opposite her. The latter was still, head facing the ground and breathing heavily, but Elliot looked anxious. He was wringing his hands together and shaking one knee up and down.

"She…. She replied to me when I first found her like this…. She hasn't spoken much since, except to me," he answered, eyeing his sister carefully, "I think she listens, but she doesn't respond."

"And, aside from the physical differences, how has she changed?"

"As in, how she acts?" Elliot cleared his throat, "She is more… dependent. She has always stuck by me, only because she is prone to fits and fainting, but now she refuses to leave my side. She is also more… Savage. She used to be very proper, but now she cares little about manners or posture. She is like an animal."

Dr Cho noted down his response, eyebrow raised. She looked him in the eye.

"Has Elise been violent towards anyone since the doctor?" she asked.

"She has not attacked anyone since, but I am worried about what will happen if…"

"Thank you, Elliot. I think that's all I need. Would you mind returning to your room with Elise?"

He nodded, and gently grabbed his sister's hand, hurrying out of the room. Dr Cho finished her notes and stood up. Next was the lab, where samples of the two Javiers' DNA was being stored for testing, and then she would give her evaluation to Fury and Stark. After that, she had said she'd have a look at Bruce, and see if there was anything that could be done.

In the hallway, her phone buzzed. It was the profile of the plant Elliot had used, provided by Stark Industries. It was called Thresshush, a plant with violet petals and pointed leaves. It had several poisonous and abnormal properties, mainly through consumption of the leaves or roots. A sample of the plant was being sent to SHIELD's labs. Hopefully this would be a step towards progress.

* * *

The Familia's island was small, primarily comprised of a stout fort, large garden and private harbour. Most of the rooms of their headquarters were underground. Even most of the Familia weren't sure where exactly it stood, only the higher ups knew that, but it was somewhere among the wild waves of the Atlantic Ocean. The harbour could hold two ships at a time, but only one was moored at the moment. It was smaller than what Francis had been expecting, it would barely hold 10 people, yet there was a crowd of Familia members on the port that could fill at least three of the same boats. Some were the help, but many were fully-fledged members. It had never occurred to Ainsworth the size of the organization. As a high-ranking member, the meetings he attended usually only consisted of the Dux, Dux Prioris and five or so others.

The Dux was already on board, standing at the entrance and surveying the crowd. With him was Kurosawa and Kazimir, all three in their masks.

"Dux Sanguine!" Ainsworth called out, among a sea of other voices.

Yet the Dux turned to him, and for a moment the Englishman was sure that he would be helped to safety, that he was as special as others the Dux valued. He had made some mistakes, mainly in managing the children 16 years ago, but he was still better than the riff raff around him. Then all heads turned at once to face the ocean, as two helicopters and three military-style boats sped towards them. The Dux returned his eyes to the crowd and called up a few others, causing uproar as the crew onboard began to detach the plank. Ainsworth surged forward.

"Dux! Dux Sanguine!" he screamed, "Let me on!"

His yells fell on deaf ears, apparently, and within seconds the ship was off. Several members attempted to jump onto the boat, but none made it.

"After all I've done for you, you ungrateful brat!"

Though Francis would have happily uttered these words in the direction of the leaving ship, he and several others were silenced by the withered yet booming voice that _had_ cried out. It was the Dux Prioris, looking older and weaker than he had been in a while. His glare didn't leave the boat's stern, even as people panicked at the nearing law enforcement, turning to hide or fight in the fort instead of waiting for death or imprisonment.

"Dux Prioris," Francis greeted, approaching him against the pull of the mob, "Are you alright?"

"I should have never given Strazio the power I did," the man mumbled, "I should have waited until Maria was old enough."

Ainsworth tugged him off of the boardwalk, onto the mix of sand and dirt that signalled the meet of beach and dry land.

"You cannot possibly blame yourself for this, Dux Prioris," he insisted, "The fall of the Familia will forever be known as Strazio Sanguine's doing."

There was a new spite in Francis' voice. He had always been slightly bitter against the Dux, but loyal and proud enough to stay beside him. Now he had been abandoned, and there was really nothing left to lose.

"I was biased and impatient. Now none of us will have the legacy I promised."

Francis had been very young when the Dux Prioris had been at the height of power, but even he could remember the bright spirit of the Familia before their failure and the new Dux's assignment.

"Let's make one last attempt, then, sir," he decided. Antonio looked up with weary eyes, "We can make it to the fort, send messages to every ally we have by any means, tell them to cause havoc in the Familia's name one last time, and then destroy any evidence of the messages we sent. The American government will have no way of stopping them and there will be international panic in our name one last time."

The old man looked at him in a mix of astonishment and pride. Finally, he smiled and nodded.

"Help me up, then, Ainsworth, we can get more help on the way up," he agreed.

The younger man helped his elder to the path, and up to the fort. A swarm of members and staff were still lingering, either praying in small groups or screaming names of friends and family. Ainsworth shrugged past them, occasionally pulling people aside to ask for their help. He gained the allegiance of a few others, and continued on.

* * *

"Director Fury?" the voice at the other end greeted.

"Was the operation successful, Agent Hill?" Fury replied.

"We have captured all known members of the Familia de Superiores, excluding Red Techno and Maria Albertelli. A few of the higher-ups tried to escape by boat, but we quickly caught up."

"Any casualties?"

"Three of ours were injured, two of theirs were killed. But, sir, it seems that after they saw us coming, they were able to destroy any evidence of their plans and the location of Albertelli and Techno. They have also destroyed all communications devices being used, so we have no way of finding their allies or any members that were not based on the island."

"Can the equipment be fixed?" Fury growled.

"We don't think so, sir, but we are bringing the wreckage back. Maybe Stark can take a look," Hill suggested.

"Maybe," Fury repeated, "Call me if there are any developments, and bring the prisoners back to America as soon as possible."

"Of course, Director."

Fury heard the agent hang up and returned his eyes to the window of his office. Now it was just for Red Techno, Maria, and the Brookes'.

 **So, finally the reign of the Familia is over. Onto the remaining villains of the story. If you like the chapter, please review, and follow for more if you haven't already. Hopefully I'll speed up the time it takes to write the next chapter as an attempt to procrastinate instead of revise...**


End file.
